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[seventynine]

That really is sad. These pranks are boring drive-time fodder too*.

I'd imagine she had a bollocking from her bosses over being so gullible as to think the queen would call herself, but then she was a nurse and not the switchboard operator and may of been overworked and tired. An understandable mistake.



*I got done over by a James Whale prank when I was 14, some tidious rubbish about satellite TV vs. cable TV. I caught on and swore at him for wasting my time.

 

[Harry Potter]

There goes my Friday. Poor woman. RIP

 

[Nobility]

Absolutely devastating, it was just a prank.

I can't imagine what the last few days have been like for her.

The backlash for those Aussie radio hosts will be severe.

 

[VGChampion]

yeah, did she get fired or something?

Obviously something happened. She was most likely having problems somewhere and with the royal family mad at you, tons of people on the Internet mad, and I'm sure the people in charge at the hospital were mad, it got to be too much.

 

[phosphor112]

Absolutely devastating, it was just a prank.

I can't imagine what the last few days have been like for her.

The backlash for those Aussie radio hosts will be severe.

No, it's not. There are life changing consequences for giving out patient information when you aren't supposed to. She probably was getting terminated and slapped with patient information violation fines.

 

[Dresden]

Life ruined, laughed at by everyone she knows, I'm not surprised. Poor woman.

 

[Vyer]

How odd. Definitely a sad overraction if that's all that was involved.

That said, the type of morning show driven by prank calls and/or featuring words like crazy, wacky, zoo and radio 'peronalities' are just barely above Ow! My Balls! on the dumb entertainment scale.

 

[Darklord]

My memory may be hazy on this but I think there was a case with two specific radio hosts in Australia where their line of questioning of an underage girl contributed to a suicide attempt.

http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/07/29/kyle-and-jackie-os-live-lie-detector-test-goes-very-wrong/

Might not have been a suicide upon further reading, but it was a lie detector test of a girl who was raped when she was 12, and under 18 so still legally a child when they did the show.

They never apologised.

Actually if you read the article, it was the girls Mum that was asking the questions and lead to that. Not the hosts. The Mum was an idiot.

 

[hym]

I think there is some telecommunication law that prohibits you from impersonating somebody to access otherwise restricted information, probably part of some identify theft clause.

In that case she shouldn't have been disciplined for falling for the deception, the hospital should have directly taken legal action against the radio station instead.

 

[therapist]

eesh , thats not good.

 

[Psychotext]

Horrible.

I cant imagine how much the press has been badgering her over the last few days, not to mention the pressure from the jobsworth middle managers at the hospital she worked at.

 

[Dabanton]

How odd. Definitely a sad overraction if that's all that was involved.

That said, the type of morning show driven by prank calls and/or featuring words like crazy, wacky, zoo and radio 'peronalities' are just barely above Ow! My Balls! on the dumb entertainment scale.

Losing your job, especially for that probably would have been career ending.

 

[teruterubozu]

I think there is some telecommunication law that prohibits you from impersonating somebody to access otherwise restricted information, probably part of some identify theft clause.

In that case she shouldn't have been disciplined for falling for the deception, the hospital should have directly taken legal action against the radio station.

But the radio station is in Australia.

 

[Nobility]

No, it's not. There are life changing consequences for giving out patient information when you aren't supposed to. She probably was getting terminated and slapped with patient information violation fines.

I'm not excusing the "prank", I think they should have been fined for invasion of privacy and they had no right to make that phone call, regardless if they thought it was amusing or not.

That being said, I imagine, like everyone, thought the DJ's call would be taken in good humour and only overreaction by the press being the only eventuality, not the death of a respected nurse.

This is a tragedy, I can only think that she had been terminated by the hospital and could not also handle the media pressure. Society focuses on the results, not the action that caused it, so everyone will rain down criticism on the hosts now.

 

[Igo]

So what happens if it comes out that Kate and family pushed for her termination or some other disciplinary action. Do they press turn on them, drag the woman through the mud or just forget this ever happened?

 

[Patryn]

I'm not excusing the "prank", I think they should have been fined for invasion of privacy and they had no right to make that phone call, regardless if they thought it was amusing or not.

That being said, I imagine, like everyone, thought the DJ's call would be taken in good humour and only overreaction by the press being the only eventuality, not the death of a respected nurse.

This is a tragedy, I can only think that she had been terminated by the hospital and could not also handle the media pressure. Society focuses on the results, not the action that caused it, so everyone will rain down criticism on the hosts now.

You think the hospital would take it in good spirits? That was a major breach and a major black eye to them. I have little doubt that every single higher-up in the hospital had to personally apologize to the royal family, and the hospital no doubt faced massive fines for breaching patient information, etc, etc. I would not be shocked if this nurse was fired and then blackballed.

This wasn't a little prank to them, I don't think.

 

[Zaph]

Nurses in the UK, especially older ones, take their job very seriously. It's a vocation held in very high esteem with a rich history and nurses often (like some teachers) live, eat, sleep and breathe their job. It's basically their life.

If she was already emotionally unstable, I imagine it probably felt like she 'let her country down'. Really tragic.

No clue how live pranks on unwitting victims are still legal. Surely they should do the prank, get permission from the victim, then air it?

 

[caramac]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/dec/07/duchess-cambridge-hoax-call-nurse-found-dead

On the Guardian news site now.

 

[Dilly]

This is so incredibly sad.

 

[Klyka]

Wait. Wait wait wait.

Read the article again. The woman/nurse who died was the one who answered the phone and then gave the call to ANOTHER nurse. That nurse then told them the patient information.

Apart from putting a call through to another nurse, it doesn't seem like she did anything horrible at all!

 

[Bumhead]

A breach of patient confidentiality isn't taken as "just a prank" by any hospital for any patient.

 

[Brinbe]

CNN reporting it now too... very sad.

 

[Gabotron ES]

This is sad and weird, wow.

 

[Vyer]

Losing your job, especially for that probably would have been career ending.

Yeah, but I didn't know if we had the info on what exactly had happened to her. Hence the 'if that's all that was involved'.

 

[Patryn]

Wait. Wait wait wait.

Read the article again. The woman/nurse who died was the one who answered the phone and then gave the call to ANOTHER nurse. That nurse then told them the patient information.

Apart from putting a call through to another nurse, it doesn't seem like she did anything horrible at all!

She was supposed to be the one to weed out the prank callers. I think the other nurse would assume that whoever gets passed to her has been checked out and is legit. So it was really this woman's fault the information was disclosed.

 

[Nobility]

You think the hospital would take it in good spirits? That was a major breach and a major black eye to them. I have little doubt that every single higher-up in the hospital had to personally apologize to the royal family, it no doubt faced massive fines for breaching patient information, etc, etc. I would not be shocked if this nurse was fired and then blackballed.

This wasn't a little prank to them, I don't think.

No, I'm looking at the hosts perspective.

The hospital has every right to dismiss doctors and nurses who breach confidential patient information. Obviously the hosts did not care and as a result, the hospital had no choice but to investigate and possibly suspend/terminate a nurse.

It was a huge privacy breach and if it was me, I definitely would not want it to happen again to anyone. The fact that it was a member of the royal family in this case only brings more attention to the issue, no one is going to blame a hospital in protecting their patient's rights, it's only sad to hear that is has come to this a life was lost.

 

[Callo Merlose]

I can't make sense of what happened and even if someone can properly explain what happened, it probably still won't make sense. Sad.

 

[ZiggyRoXx]

Australians...always trying to fuck things up for the UK anyway they can...bunch of immature cunts.

 

[ScreenSplitter]

In their initial apology the two presenters said: "We were very surprised that our call was put through. We thought we'd be hung up on as soon as they heard our terrible accents.

"We're very sorry if we've caused any issues and we're glad to hear that Kate is doing well."

Bullshit! They should have hung up then! And typically, they apologize for causing any "issues". A woman is dead. That's more than an issue. Don't wish the perfectly fine pregnant woman well, vehemently apologize to the family of the woman who's life you ruined. All because important medical information like the colour and frequency of the royal vomit was divulged.

 

[jorgeton]

Wow. Really sad news. I felt bad for her when she answered the phone, she sounded so excited.

I'm sure the last couple of days have not been pleasant for her.

 

[Blair]

the shit rags are probably pretty jelly that these dj's managed to get confidential info by just calling and asking, as opposed to hacking phones and emails.

 

[LiK]

WTF

 

[Ushojax]

BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt said he understood Mrs Saldanha was the person who answered the call from the Australian DJs and was not the nurse who discussed the duchess's medical condition.
Mrs Saldanha, a duty nurse, answered the telephone because it was 05:30 GMT in the morning and there was no receptionist on duty.

The BBC understands Mrs Saldanha had not been suspended or disciplined by the hospital.

She wasn't even the person who discussed medical details.

 

[The Elite]

She wasn't even the person who discussed medical details.

Not suspended or disciplined either.

 

[dose]

Bullshit! They should have hung up then! And typically, they apologize for causing any "issues". A woman is dead. That's more than an issue. Don't wish the perfectly fine pregnant woman well, vehemently apologize to the family of the woman who's life you ruined. All because important medical information like the colour and frequency of the royal vomit was divulged.

Hindsight's a wonderful thing, and you're taking it way too far. Yes it was silly, but they didn't think they'd get through. And they obviously didn't think anyone would kill themselves over such a prank.
Sad news.

 

[OpinionatedCyborg]

wow, she and the other nurse massively fucked up. not worth killing yourself over, but hugely embarassing and unprofessional. that said, all HCPs will make a few big mistakes over the course of their careers, but it normally doesn't involve the Queen.

 

[Zaph]

Hindsight's a wonderful thing, and you're taking it way too far. Yes it was silly, but they didn't think they'd get through. And they obviously didn't think anyone would kill themselves over such a prank.
Sad news.

That's the 'funny' thing about live pranks on unwitting victims - you have no idea of the consequences.

 

[jmdajr]

fucked up man

 

[phosphor112]

You think the hospital would take it in good spirits? That was a major breach and a major black eye to them. I have little doubt that every single higher-up in the hospital had to personally apologize to the royal family, and the hospital no doubt faced massive fines for breaching patient information, etc, etc. I would not be shocked if this nurse was fired and then blackballed.

This wasn't a little prank to them, I don't think.

Thanks for making the post for me. Makes my life easier. lol

 

[OpinionatedCyborg]

Why would she commit suicide over a prank? Did she get ripped apart or threatened by her bosses at the hospital or something?

it's not widely known, but nurses tend to be the ones most responsible for protecting patient privacy... they're the ones with patients the most, they're the ones protecting patient records and vetting other HCPs before they allow Pt records to be seen (pharmacists or doctors not directly working with a particular patient are not allowed to just waltz in and see that patient's records without good reason) , they're the ones advocating on the behalf of patients... so this is a huge, huge fuckup on their part. it's a complete failure at doing one of the most important fundamental parts of their job, and I would be mortified if I was in her position.

 

[Timbuktu]

I'm not hearing anyone confirming suicide yet.

 

[blame space]

jesus christ I was wondering why this was all over the entertainment news shows it didn't seem like a huge deal and now she's dead

 

[wetflame]

It isn't that they're slow. They know, they're just checking the facts before publishing the wrong story.

Late to quote this, but this is true. In fact I believe that the BBC will not report on a story until other news channels have done so, as BBC News is not supposed to compete with other news sources.

This is a real shame. Obviously a drastic reaction to what happened but still very sad, especially given how much her work benefits people.

I'm not hearing anyone confirming suicide yet.

BBC News says she was found dead and that the death is not being treated as suspicious, so it seems very likely.

 

[Wax Free Vanilla]

Did the Queen order this hit?

 

[mollipen]

I absolutely detest humor that comes at the expense of others. If the prank by the two radio hosts is found to have been the cause of this, I hope they have the book throw at them.

 

[OpinionatedCyborg]

Did the Queen order this hit?

first diana, then 9/11, now this... queen don't give a fuck

 

[3Sixty]

first diana, then 9/11, now this... queen don't give a fuck

Bloody Krauts.

 

[D4Danger]

she had 2 kids and a husband.

Why in the fucking hell would you kill yourself of this? People had already moved it, it wasn't a big issue.

 

[shinobi602]

Is Kate Middleton seen as a god or something in the UK for a person to commit suicide at the announcement of her death?

 

[OpinionatedCyborg]

she had 2 kids and a husband.

Why in the fucking hell would you kill yourself of this? People had already moved it, it wasn't a big issue.

perhaps she already thought she was terible at her job and incapable of doing anything successfully in life in addition to being depressed about other things as well. it's not a stretch that something as stressful and publically embarassing as this would push her over the edge. we really have no idea what was going through her mind and whether it was a suicide or not... but it isn't hard to speculate as to why this situation could create a personal crisis for someone and lead to their suicide.