21-Dec-2012
Ronald Anil Fernandes
Tried to kill herself twice while on holiday in Mangalore last Xmas
MANGALORE : The tragic story of Jacintha Saldanha, who committed suicide in
her nursing staff quarters in London on December 7, may have much deeper roots
than just the humiliation she suffered at the hands of the two Australian Radio
DJs two days earlier, on December 5.
Eleven months before she ended her life, Jacintha had developed suicidal
tendencies. She had attempted suicide twice, once on December 30, 2011, and the
second time on January 8, 2012, while she was in Mangalore/Shirva on a visit to
India for Christmas, according to credible information available with Deccan
Herald.
On the first occasion, she is believed to have been rushed to a private
hospital in Mangalore for treatment after she attempted “self-harm” on December
30. It isn’t clear if she had consumed some poisonous substance then.
On the second occasion on January 8, however, she was rushed to the city-based
Father Muller Medical College Hospital with head injuries following a “fall.”
The injury was also causing loss of consciousness for a few seconds at a time.
The doctors attending to her diagnosed her with having a “depressive disorder”
caused by a history of stress, though they did not have reliable information
about the history. Her mood was one of “sadness,” and she suffered from
decreased sleep for more than 15 days, because of which she made “two attempts
of deliberate self-harm.”
With her mental condition in such a depressed state (exhibiting death wish, so
to say) – unwilling to establish eye-to-eye contact with others, difficulty in
establishing rapport, and her decreased volume of talk, tone and increased
reaction time, doctors referred Jacintha to psychiatrists on January 10.
“The patient was taken over by psychiatry on January 10 in view of suicidal
risk,” according to information with Deccan Herald. Subsequently, she was under
psychiatric treatment at the hospital for four days. At the time of her
discharge on January 13, her condition had considerably improved. She was in a
“happy” mood, and her psychometer activity was “normal.”
But while discharging her, the doctors explained to her family attendants that
there existed “the risk of deliberate self-harm and the need for 24-hour
supervision. The patient party was also advised to administer medication.”
Informed sources said her medication continued till September. But, it is clear
that she was not under constant supervision of family members as she lived at
the nurse staff quarters alone, while her husband and children lived in
Bristol, UK.
It appeared that her suicidal tendencies reappeared after the prank calls from
the Australian radio DJs. This, it appeared, was an aggravating factor.
However, it is not known what had caused the depressive state of mind in the
first place when she made the two “self-harm” attempts while on Christmas visit
to India last December-January.
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/300120/no-prank-jacintha-had-suicidal.html
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