Inquest for hoax call nurse to start

11 September 2014 Last updated at 04:53

The inquest into the death of a nurse found hanged after she took a hoax call at her hospital in London about the Duchess of Cambridge is due to begin.

Jacintha Saldanha was found dead on 7 December 2012, three days after taking the call from two Australian radio DJs.

Mrs Saldanha had put the call through to the ward where the pregnant duchess was staying and another nurse there revealed confidential medical details.

The inquest at Westminster Coroner's Court is due to last one or two days.

At a preliminary inquest hearing, a senior police officer said there were no suspicious circumstances.

The hearing was told there were injuries to Mrs Saldanha's wrist, and two notes were found among her possessions.

Detailed update

It is understood that nine witnesses will give evidence during the inquest.

The witnesses are not expected to include the DJs who made the prank call, Michael Christian and Mel Greig, but their employer will make a statement.

Mrs Saldanha, who was 46, was working at King Edward VII hospital when she answered a call from the DJs impersonating members of the royal family.

She transferred the call to a ward where the duchess was being treated for a severe form of morning sickness and a colleague there gave the hoaxers a detailed update on her condition.

What are the key issues?

by Peter Hunt, BBC royal correspondent

It was meant to have been a fun and light-hearted prank.

But three days after Jacintha Saldanha had put through the call from the Australian DJs she was found hanged at the nurses' accommodation where she was staying.

Now, almost two years later, her delayed inquest is taking place.

At an earlier hearing the coroner, Fiona Wilcox, said the nurse's state of mind was a "very important issue".

Her family are keen to establish whether or not she was suitably trained to deal with the difficulties she faced.

Their barrister told the coroner last year that they wouldn't be focusing on the care and the counselling she received after putting the DJs through to a colleague on the ward.

At the time of her death, Mrs Saldanha was described as an "outstanding" nurse whose passing would leave "an unfillable void" in the lives of her family.

Sarapan Oatmeal