Email
A hospital nurse found hanged after being duped in a prank call by two Australian radio DJs pretending to be the Queen and Prince Charles described her distress in two emails sent to colleagues shortly before her death, an inquest has heard.
Jacintha Saldanha, 46, a night sister at the King Edward VII hospital, London, where the Duchess of Cambridge was admitted for acute morning sickness, believed she should take the blame for transferring the hoax call to a colleague treating the duchess.
Jacintha Saldanha. Photograph: Enterprise News And Pictures
Saldanha, a mother of two, was found hanged, and with cuts to her wrists, at the hospital nurses' accommodation on 7 December 2012, three days after Sydney's 2Day FM radio station made the 5.30am call, which she had transferred, believing it to be a call from the Queen. The conversation that the two DJs, Mel Greig and Mike Christian, subsequently had with the second nurse about the duchess's medical condition was broadcast by the station.
The day after the hoax, Saldanha, in an email to her colleague, who cannot be named, expressed her distress, writing: "It's all my fault and I feel very bad about this getting you involved. Please accept my apologies. If there is anything I could do to mend it I would do it myself, but it is all in their [hospital management's] hands." Explaining how she was duped, she wrote: "At the moment in time, with that voice, I couldn't even think of anything else. It's all my fault."
In another email, sent to her matron and other colleagues the following day, she apologised for making a mistake, writing: "I feel very sorry for breaking security, I am ready for any punishment, Please do not hold [the other nurse] responsible for this."
The duchess's nurse told the inquest at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Thursday that at first she thought it was plausible it might be the Queen calling, but had some concern because it was so early in the morning.
She addressed the caller as "ma'am" and said Kate was comfortable. "I started feeling nervous when the caller talked to a male voice asking about taking the corgis for a walk." She then thought it a prank, and wanted to bring the call to an end, she said.
Saldanha's husband, Benedict Barboza, an accountant, and their two children, Junal, 18, and Lisha, 16, sat in the well of the court with the Labour MP Keith Vaz, who has acted as a family spokesman.
Earlier Barboza broke down as he told the coroner, Dr Fiona Wilcox, that to his knowledge his wife had not suffered from depression or from any psychiatric illness, nor had she made any attempts to harm herself.
He described her as a "bubbly" woman, "a caring wife and loving mother" who "touched the hearts of everyone she met", evidenced by the number of thank you cards she received from patients.
He said the family lived in Bristol, and his wife would stay at the accommodation when working at the London hospital, but they spoke every day.
When he could not get hold of her on Thursday 6 December he became concerned, and contacted a colleague the following day who checked Saldanha's room and found her body.
Saldanha was night nurse in charge of the three-ward private hospital on 4 December 2012 when the call was made, and her duties included answering the phone as no receptionist was on duty at night .
Since her death a night receptionist has been employed at the hospital when senior members of the royal family are admitted, the inquest was told.
Matron Caroline Cassells said she tried to reassure Saldanha and there had been no mention of disciplinary action. Though both nurses had breached protocol, "we felt it was a nasty trick".
She broke down on the stand as she described receiving Saldanha's email, the day before she was found, and said she had not had time to reply to it. "I regret not answering that email earlier," she said, adding: "There was no indication that she wasn't coping."
Greig attended the hearing "voluntarily", tweeting before the inquest: "I made a commitment to the Saldanha family that I would answer any questions they have, on or off the stand. I'm here to uphold that promise."
DJs Michael Christian and Mel Greig. Photograph: Channel Nine/AFP/Getty Images
No longer working for the radio station, she has publicly expressed her distress and revealed that she had received death threats and the incident had taken a massive toll on her family.
But the coroner declined Greig's offer, saying any evidence she could give about Saldanha's demeanour during the call was not relevant. She thanked Greig for her attendance, saying: "I understand Ms Greig may feel she has been unfairly blamed for the events that followed the hoax call and for this she has my sympathy." She added that the inquiry "is not to apportion blame in anyway".
The inquest was told that the radio station claimed it had rung the hospital to attempt to gain consent before the hoax call was broadcast. Evidence showed four other calls were made to the hospital between 5.30am and 6am GMT on the morning of the hoax call, the longest of which lasted 45 seconds. Rhys Holleran, chief executive of Southern Cross Media Group, which owns 2Day FM, said in a statement to the inquest the calls were ended by the recipient, which is why they were so short.
He said the station had broadcast the call without consent but it was checked by legal staff before being aired. The company deeply regretted the tragedy, and extended deepest sympathies to Saldanha's family, friends and colleagues, he said. "It does not apportion blame to any of its announcers."
The inquest continues.
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