Nurse Criticized Royal Hospital In Suicide Note
Dec. 14, 2012, 11:40 a.m.
The nurse, who left behind three suicide notes, hanged herself with a scarf; she also had injuries to her wrists.
Jacintha Saldanha
Last week, the body of nurse Jacintha Saldanha was found in a London building near King Edward VII Hospital where she worked. Days earlier she'd been duped by an Australian radio prank call, during which DJs pretended to be Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles inquiring about Prince William's pregnant wife Kate Middleton. While the hospital has criticized the radio station for airing the call, a suicide note left behind by Saldanha suggests she was unhappy with how the hospital treated her.
Saldanha had been filling in for a receptionist when she answered the DJs' call and promptly transferred the pair to Middleton's attending nurse, who gave more details about her condition. After Saldanha's death, the hospital, known for treating the royal family, had said, "Jacintha has worked at the King Edward VII Hospital for more than four years. She was an excellent nurse and well respected and popular with all over her colleagues. We can confirm that Jacintha was recently the victim of a hoax call to the hospital. The hospital had been supporting her throughout this difficult time."
However, according to the Mirror, Saldanha left three notes and was upset by the hospital: "In one, the distraught mum-of-two outlines how she struggled to come to terms with the prank call by Mel Greig and Michael Christian to the hospital where pregnant Duchess Kate was being treated for severe morning sickness. But in another she criticises senior colleagues at the King Edward VII hospital over her treatment after the pair had pretended to be the Queen and Prince Charles asking about the duchess’s condition. That note is said to have left her family furious." The third note was related to her funeral arrangements.
An inquest found that Saldanha hanged herself in quarters that hospital staff use—an official said, "Jacintha Saldanha was found by a colleague and a member of security hanging from a scarf attached to a wardrobe. There were also some injuries to her wrists."
The Australian radio station, 2Day FM, cancelled the DJ's program and pledged to donate at least $500,000 to Saldanha's husband and teen children.
