Prank call to Kate's hospital results in nurse's suicide!!!

[Darth Penguin]

Uhm, what she has can actually be life threatening.

I can't believe the dj's on the radio called it a "little tummy bug" idiots.

Sadly, there are a lot of people who brush off anything to do with pregnancy issues as trivial. Quite often they are men but some women who had easy pregnancies often just don't understand how ill some women get.

I was lucky enough to have 3 healthy pregnancies( and 2 m/cs...)but I would never say another woman wasn't seriously ill if her doctors told me otherwise.

[Natalka]

It's just so sad....

[Darth Penguin]

Nurse Jacintha ...dj's taken off air until further notice

Australian radio presenters Mel Greig and Michael Christian have been taken off air this evening following growing global outrage at their ‘sick’ prank call to the Duchess of Cambridge’s hospital.
The 2DayFM duo were still pictured on the station’s website urging listeners to ‘hear the latest’ and DJ Christian sent an early hours tweet boasting about the 5.30am hoax call to the King Edward VII Hospital, in central London, that was transferred by the nurse working on reception Jacintha Saldanha.
She has now been found dead. As the tragedy unfolded, the station faced growing calls from around the world to the sack the two presenters.

This evening, the owners of the radio station which employed the duo announced that they will not return to their show until further notice.

[Darth Penguin]

It appears Jacintha was only operating the switchboard...

The family of a nurse found dead in a suspected suicide just two days after transferring a hoax call about the Duchess of Cambridge tonight told of their devastation at losing their 'beloved Jacintha'.

Mother-of-two Jacintha Saldanha, who was working on the switchboard at the King Edward VII Hospital when 2DayFM obtained intimate details about Kate, was found dead this morning.
As the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge spoke of their 'deep sadness' at the tragedy, the grieving family of the 'excellent' nurse said: 'We as a family are deeply saddened by the loss of our beloved Jacintha.'

That makes it even more tragic...

[anisa]

gourmetsue, if that is the case, then just so much more tragic.

[Brandy Hunter]

Oh boy

[TudorChick]

i think there is more to this story than meets the eye.I think maybe this could be a last straw type thing where she was already suffering from depression and this set her off as a final straw.The news even said that her employers were backing her up and that the royals were not even angry.charles was interviewed shortly after the prank and was actually laughing it off.i just dont understand how this prank made her commit suicide.and i am sure the radio hosts never meant to even get through,let alone cause a suicide,so i do not agree with the radio hosts facing any kind of hate or lynching,yes they should have apologized,and they did,but are they responsible for a death?no. i dont think so,i think there may have been something already mentally wrong with this woman,a mother of two with a husband killing herself over a radio prank she never got in trouble over? sounds fishy to me.

[TudorChick]

i do however think the dj's should face dismissal.but any other hatred towards them or saying they pretty much killed her,i dont agree.they should face dismissal for sure though

[Lynn49]

What they did was irresponsible. They're supposed to be grown-ups for heaven's sake! KIDS prank-call. Not adults. And if they didn't think that someone would be disciplined for letting that call go through, then they didn't think it through!
It's bullying at its worst.

[TudorChick]

that is true,but i have read the story thoroughly and i really do think while the prank was indeed in poor taste they didnt anticipate whomever answering to even patch them through,as their accents were laughable,charles laughed at them,no one,even her job threatened her.i do believe pranks should stop and they should have to face consequences but i dont see them as bullies or even as evil people.i guess its just me but i dont see malicious intent in these people at all.infact they are being lambasted all over the internet,two wrong dont make a right.i hate bullying but they were not picking this lady out on purpose,she just answered the phone,they thought she would hang up,she wasnt even the one giving the information out,so this is why i dont understand why she did this.i am saddened by anyone that commits suicide,but she had to have been having emotional problems beforehand.her job was never gonna let her go.its just tragic all around.

[TudorChick]

i think there is a whole lot of regret in this situation,so yes in that sense i agree pranks on radio stations should be stopped.

[TudorChick]

these dj's (sorry to write so many posts..lol) were after kate middleton,not this woman who they never even knew was gonna be answering the phone,i dont think they should be made to attend the funeral,they may want to out of respect,but they should not be bullied or forced into what people are accusing them of.they never researched this woman wanting to ruin her.i really think the media,and whomever wants to perpetuate how evil these dj's are should chalk it up to a very tragic prank gone wrong and stop pranks,learn from it,and fire the dj's,then leave them alone.they are humans who made a mistake that resulted in someone choosing to end their life.the reason i find this different from bullying is because they did not seek this woman out nor did they even intend to hurt her or make her life miserable.i am just sad about the whole thing,the fact she was supported and everyone chalked it up to a bad accent prank,including the royals,and she still comitted suicide,or the fact she must have been depressed already and never sought treatment.

[RebeccaRYoung]

I think it's really sad that the nurse was found dead. It's always awful when people take their own lives. I agree with many other posts about this being a last straw type of thing. Since it doesn't seem that the hospital was punishing the nurse, it doesn't seem like this was the reason for the suicide. I don't think that the dj's should be punished. Lot's of dj's do a similar type of pranking over the phone. Not all of them call pretending to be the queen, but many do similar types of jokes. Even on the show Frasier, you hear all sorts of pranks done by the on air talent. This isn't unheard of, and usually the audience just laughs. It's too bad that this one time it went too far. I still think that the nurse had other issues going on, and this was just a last straw thing though.

That being said, I wonder what the privacy and confidentiality laws are like in the UK? If they are as stringent as they are in Ontario, then no nurse should ever even confirm that they have a particular patient staying with them let alone any other information. I'm not exactly certain what information is considered confidential, but I wouldn't have been too impressed with a nurse saying anything about me to someone over the phone.

[Darth Penguin]

It was hardly a secret that the Duchess was a patient at King Edward VII. 'm guessing the hospital had got a lot of calls asking about her health.

From what I remember as a patient in a UK hospital....If (general) you knew the ward some-one was on, then simply asking for the ward name would get you through to the nurses station. Then after that nursing or admin staff would only give info to some-one who claimed to be a close relative unless the patient or his/her next of kin had asked for no up-dates to be given out. That was nearly 15 yrs ago and may well have changed.

The hospital I was in had several maternity wards with differing names so asking for the maternity ward wouldn't have got you anywhere, except to the main admin who took your name/number and asked if the patiient wanted to either speak to the caller or have any details given to them.

[TudorChick]

i really do whole heartedly believe this was a call obviously from another country just to see if they could get through.this lady was filling in that night on switchboard,she may not have known protocol,who knows,but i do not think these guys sought her out or intended hurtful things...it is a tragedy is what it is..a tragedy this woman even with all support,ended her life.