Hoax call nurse’s brother says she died of shame

LONDON: The distraught family of an Indian-origin nurse, who got caught up in a prank call made to a hospital treating Prince William’s wife Kate, believe she died of shame after falling for the hoax.
46-year-old Jacintha Saldanha was found dead at nurses’ quarters next to the private King Edward VII hospital in Marylebone, central London.
Saldanha’s brother Naveen has said that his sister has died of shame following the royal hospital hoax.
Naveen was quoted by the Daily Mail as saying that his devoutly Catholic sister was a “proper and righteous person”.
She would have been “devastated” at unwittingly assisting a colleague in breaching medical confidentiality over the condition of Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge. “She would have felt much shame about the incident,” Naveen said.
Saldanha answered the hoax call at 5.30am on Nov 5, and was helping out on reception at the time of the prank. Giggling DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian were pretending to be the British Queen and Prince Charles and asked her if they could be put through to Kate.
Saldanha connected them to another nurse who gave details of Kate’s condition, who was suffering from acute morning sickness at the London hospital.
A recording of the conversation was broadcast on the ‘2Day FM’ station with the DJs gleefully boasting about their successful hoax.
Saldanha, whose husband Benedict Barboza is a National Health Service accountant, moved to the UK ten years ago from Mangalore in Karnataka. Benedict, expressed his sadness on his Facebook page with a short note “Obituary Jacintha.”
“I am devastated with the tragic loss of my beloved wife Jacintha in tragic circumstances,” he wrote. He said she will be laid to rest in Shirva, India.
Saldanha’s sister-in-law Celine Barboza said the family could not understand what had caused the “strong” mother of two apparently to end her life.

Radio to pay 500,000 dollars
MELBOURNE: The Australian radio network, whose prank call to a British hospital treating a pregnant Kate Middleton led to the death of an Indian-origin nurse, has said it would contribute at least 500,000 dollars to a memorial fund to help the grieving family of the woman.
The radio network said it would resume the advertising and donate its profit to help Saldanha’s family. It said that it would make a minimum 500,000 Australian dollar (USD 523,600) donation to the fund.
Following global condemnation after the death of Saldanah, Austereo had suspended all advertising on 2Day FM and was reportedly reviewing company polices and processes. The two hosts involved in the prank call have also been taken off air until further notice.
“All profits from advertising on 2DayFM until the end of the year will be donated to an appropriate fund that will directly benefit the family of Jacintha Saldanha,” a statement from the radio network said.
“Southern Cross Austereo reiterates its deep regret for what has taken place in these tragic and unforeseen circumstances and offers its condolences to the family of Jacintha Saldanha.”
Southern Cross chief executive Rhys Holleran said the company was deeply saddened by “this tragic and unforeseen event and offers its condolences to the family of Jacintha Saldanha.”
“We hope that by contributing to a memorial fund we can help to provide the Saldanha family with the support they need at this very difficult time,” he said.

‘Shattered’ pranksters apologize
The radio presenters, who made the prank call, sobbed and spoke of being “shattered, gutted, heartbroken” on hearing the news of the death of an Indian-origin nurse and apologized for their actions.
Radio station 2Day FM presenters Mel Greig and Michael Christian said they were devastated by the news of 46-year-old Jacintha Saldanha’s death.
When asked how they reacted when told of the death of Saldanha, the mother of two, both DJs broke down in tears.
While Christian said he was “shattered, gutted, heartbroken”, Greig replied it was “gut wrenching”, the worst phone call of her life.
“Our deepest sympathies are with the family and the friends (of Saldanha),” Christian said.
“It came into my head that I just wanted to reach out to them (the family), give them a big hug and say sorry. I hope they’re OK, I really do,” Greig said.
The two presenters were interviewed by Channel Nine and the Seven Network.
Greig and Christian posing as Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles made the call which was received by Saldanha at London’s King Edward VII Hospital.
She put them through to a colleague who divulged details of the pregnant Kate’s health conditions. Saldanha was subsequently found dead under mysterious circumstances.
“It was just the team sitting down before the show – just had the idea for just a simple harmless phone call,” Christian said. “… when we thought about making a call, it was going to go for 30 seconds. We were going to be hung up on, and that was it,” he added.
Greig said: “We thought a hundred people before us would’ve tried it. We thought it was such a silly idea and the accents were terrible and not for a second did we expect to speak to Kate, let alone have a conversation with anyone at the hospital. We wanted to be hung up on.”
Christian was adamant the effect of the prank call could not have been foreseen. “These prank calls are made every day, on every radio station in every country around the world and they have been for a long time and no-one could’ve imagined this to happen,” he said.
Grimshaw who interviewed them, said she felt sympathy for the pair.
“They’re at a certain point on the food chain. There are other people who made the decision to put it to air, it wasn’t live to air, there was a decision made after that prank call was recorded to put it to air, and virtually all the focus has been on them,” Grimshaw said.
She said she was mindful that anyone in their situation would be fragile and the interview was a chance for the hosts to say what they wanted to say.
Meanwhile, the boss of 2Day FM said that staff from the station followed proper procedures and had tried at least five times to contact those involved in the prank call.
“It is absolutely true to say that we actually did attempt to contact those people [the nurses] on multiple occasions,” company’s chief executive Rhys Holleran said.
“We rang them up to discuss what we had recorded. Before it went to air? Absolutely, we attempted to contact them on no less than five occasions,” he said.
Owner of 2Day FM Southern Cross Austereo announced cancellation of the Hot 30 show and issued a company-wide suspension of prank calls.

Southern Cross Austereo chairman Max Moore-Wilton, in a letter to the chairman of King Edward VII’s Hospital, assured that the company will cooperate with any investigation.
Scotland Yard is understood to have asked police in Sydney for assistance, with a view to interviewing the two DJs ahead of an inquest into Saldanha’s death.
Nick Kaldas, deputy commissioner for New South Wales Police, confirmed the Scotland Yard’s request, telling Sky News: “It hasn’t been indicated to us that an offence has occurred and they have not actually asked for anything yet.”
“They’ve simply touched base, let us know of their interest and they will get back to us if they actually want something done. Nothing has been requested of us yet,” he said.
A New South Wales Police spokesman said: “As our policing colleagues in London continue to examine events leading up to the death of London nurse Jacintha Saldanha, we will be providing them with whatever assistance is required.”
In his letter to the hospital, Max said: “we are all saddened by the events of last few days. They are truly tragic. It is too early to know full details leading to this tragic event and we are anxious to review the results of any investigation that may be made available to us or made public.
We can assure you that we will fully cooperate with all investigations.”

Fast-track inquiry
Meanwhile, Australian Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said the independent Australian Communications and Media Authority had received complaints about the call, and was considering a fast-track inquiry into the matter.
He said the authority had acted swiftly on the matter over the weekend “and hopefully we’ll hear from them shortly”.
Also, thousands of Australians have come out in support of the two broadcasters, holding that the two presenters were not to blame for the tragic death of Saldanha.
News Ltd, which conducted a poll, revealed that over two-thirds of voters of more than 11,000 people who participated said the radio pranksters should not be blamed for the tragedy.
Grimshaw, who interviewed the two DJs, said: “what has happened with this poor nurse in England is not going to be helped by bullying these two people into some sort of breakdown. I was very mindful that anyone in their situation would be fragile, and very mindful of not becoming part of the problem.
“We talked about the process of the prank call, how it came about, what happens after you record something like that, where are the checks and balances, what is the network’s policy on prank calls, where do you draw the line.
“We talked about their future and we talked about whether prank calls should be banned.” -PTI