Hospital turns up pressure on radio station that prank called about Kate Middleton’s health

After the death of a nurse duped by a prank call to obtain information about the health of the Duchess of Cambridge, King Edward VII hospital is turning up the pressure on the radio station responsible.

Lord Glenarthur, Chairman of King Edward VII’s Hospital, sent a letter to the station criticizing their careless action.

“I am writing to protest in the strongest possible terms about the hoax call made from your radio station, 2DayFM, to this hospital last Tuesday.”

“King Edward VII”s Hospital cares for sick people, and it was extremely foolish of your presenters even to consider trying to lie their way through to one of our patients, let alone actually make the call,” Glenarthur said in the letter.

Jacintha Saldanha was found unconscious at around 9:30 a.m. local time Friday, at an address in central London close to the hospital, where the Duchess had been admitted for severe morning sickness due to her pregnancy.

The hospital has not confirmed how she died, but British media reported it appears to be a suicide

“The immediate consequence of these premeditated and ill-considered actions was the humiliation of two dedicated and caring nurses who were simply doing their job tending to their patients,” Glenarthur said.

“The longer term consequence has been reported around the world and is, frankly, tragic beyond words.”

Hospital officials said Saldanha had been a nurse for several years and was well liked.

“It is with deep sadness that I can confirm the tragic death of a member of our nursing staff, Jacintha Saldanha. Jacintha has worked at the King Edward VII Hospital for more than four years,” a hospital official said during his address to reporters, saying the staff was ”shocked” by the news.

She being described as “an excellent nurse and well-respected and popular with all of her colleagues.”

Saldanha, 46, was a mother of two children.

Her family has issued a statement, saying they were “deeply saddened by the loss of our beloved Jacintha” and have requested privacy from the media.

In the prank call, two Australian radio personalities from radio station 2Day FM pretended to be Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles and got a medical update on the Duchess while she was staying there.

The hospital confirmed she was recently the victim of a prank call to the hospital on Tuesday, but did not say what role she played in the call. It’s believed she was the first nurse to take the call, which was then transferred.

The two radio personalities apologized the following day, and on Friday, said they were deeply saddened by the tragic news of Saldanha’s death and extend their deepest sympathies.

However, the promo on 2Day FM on the crank call continued to air throughout the early morning hours, Saturday, in Australia. The audio of the call itself, as well as information about the personalities, were pulled from the site a few hours later.

A petition is now circulating on the Internet to have the personalities fired. They will not be returning to their shows for the time being.

Meanwhile, Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge have also expressed their sadness, saying their thoughts and prayers are with Saldanha’s family, friends and colleagues.

Lord Glenarthur ended his letter with a wish that something like the incident never happened again.

“I appreciate that you cannot undo the damage which has been done but I would urge you to take steps to ensure that such an incident could never be repeated.”

Officials at King Edward VII Hospital expressed their sadness over the nurse’s death. The news also sparked shock and outrage on Twitter. Read the official statements and some of the comments below: [View the story “Nurse duped in royal pregnancy prank call has died” on Storify]