Hospital Nurse Who Took Kate Hoax Call Found Dead

[Alex Forrest]

I think it is appalling. I hate when radio personalities do this. They do it every week in my city when they try to catch someone cheating. It's awful.

I knew a coworker who had the worst of the worst with her partner. Physically abusive, emotionally abusive. The only thing she had was her work. Every day she wanted to kill herself and was just waiting for a signal. I would not be surprised if this worker was similar. You know the hospital went after her, and probably tried to fire her. When work is gone, nothing else is left. It's tragic.

Not a fan of these pranks. They can really cause harm, as this thread shows. Don't play with someone's emotions, you don't know where they are in their life. This Aussie duo has to know that they caused the death of this woman. Hopefully they aren't still laughing. The tape of them laughing is sickening. I mean, really? How sad.

[Silver Lining]

This wasn't an ordinary hospital, it was one used frequently by the royal family. From their website: "The Hospital has a strong tradition of excellence in nursing. Our nursing staff are some of the very best and - unlike many hospitals - the vast majority are permanently employed by us."

An article here describes Jacintha as being bubbly, hard working, but nervous and needing a confidence boost now and then. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news...-1226532841906

[*Jen*]

I
This Aussie duo has to know that they caused the death of this woman. Hopefully they aren't still laughing. The tape of them laughing is sickening. I mean, really? How sad.

Of course they're not still laughing. They've been taken off air, might lose their jobs, have been silenced by their employers and told not to comment, and are receiving death threats from all over the world.

They might be responsible for a bad prank that misfired, but they are human.

The real culprits are the listeners, not just of this station but of every station that does similar pranks. The listeners tolerate it and support it, and have done for years. It's all well and good for people to be outraged now that it has something to do with 'beloved' royals and there has been this horrific, unintended consequence. However, the vast majority of listeners of radio shows like this one should also shoulder some blame. No one wants to admit that they like these pranks in the face of what's happened, but the history of the shows and the ratings tell a different story.

You can't just blame the DJs, the station, the hospital for their privacy policy etc etc. There is no one person or group of people to blame. What's happened, and the outcry and death threats, is more a sick reflection of society as a whole than any individual.

People should be less interested in laying blame and slapping wrists and more interested in learning the lesson, IMO.

[michaelfsfan]

The real culprits are the listeners, not just of this station but of every station that does similar pranks. The listeners tolerate it and support it, and have done for years. It's all well and good for people to be outraged now that it has something to do with 'beloved' royals and there has been this horrific, unintended consequence. However, the vast majority of listeners of radio shows like this one should also shoulder some blame. No one wants to admit that they like these pranks in the face of what's happened, but the history of the shows and the ratings tell a different story.

You can't just blame the DJs, the station, the hospital for their privacy policy etc etc. There is no one person or group of people to blame. What's happened, and the outcry and death threats, is more a sick reflection of society as a whole than any individual.

People should be less interested in laying blame and slapping wrists and more interested in learning the lesson, IMO.

ITA. Why are trashy magazines that base their selling prowess on publishing photos of royals, pop stars etc taken without their permission still in circulation? To satisfy the "cravings" of nosey people who want to see what their "idols" are up to in their free time. It all boils down to one equation: no demand = no supply.

[Angelskates]

Has any proof been found that the prank had anything to do with the nurse's suicide? I still don't understand the link...she's not the nurse who gave the confidential information, there was never a question of this nurse getting in trouble. That she killed herself is a tragedy, as is every suicide, but it may not have anything to do with the prank. That doesn't make the prank any less stupid, but I don't think it's the DJs fault. The listeners, heck even Prince Charles, were laughing before the woman committed suicide; that's the DJs job, to get laughs. I don't think it's funny, but some obviously did. Is anyone blaming Prince Charles? It's people who laugh at pranks like this that mean they continue.

[orbitz]

The prank itself is no worse than hundreds of harmless pranks that are attempted every April Fool's day. I personally don't think the DJs did anything wrong.

[Silver Lining]

Here is a photo of nurse Jacintha Saldanha: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...alian-DJs.html

[*Jen*]

Here's an interesting opinion piece from an Australian newspaper.

I agree with most of it, but it's not just 'an English culture', it's an English speaking culture. As Michael pointed out above, the US magazines were drooling just as much over the royal baby story as the English ones, as were the Australian ones. And as a listener of Brisith radio, let me assure you that while no one made a prank call to the hospital that I'm aware of, loads of people were taking the piss, joking about baby names and other royals' reactions. Australian papers were just as after the call as British ones.

It does quite succinctly deal with the legal issues though. Bad taste isn't a crime.

[bek]

The prank itself is no worse than hundreds of harmless pranks that are attempted every April Fool's day. I personally don't think the DJs did anything wrong.

I disagree. Pranks are harmless only if they cause no permanent harm. If their prank was successful and nurses gave confidential material, those people could lose their jobs. There is nothing harmless about tricking someone to losing their job..

[mkats]

This is an interesting read. While I agree that what the DJs did was stupid, the blame has to stop somewhere.

Former television journalist's own experience makes her sympathetic to radio pair

[suep1963]

I think that if you perform an action, then you have to be willing to take responsibility for that action, no matter what the outcome is. Saying it's just a harmless joke or prank is an excuse to deflect blame. If you cannot be mature enough to be willing to accept that "the buck stops here--I did this and it blew up in my face" than I have no sympathy when you get a bunch of criticism. You thought this was funny--now you might lose your job. Too bad--should have thought about that before you made the phone call. You did it, now stop blaming everyone else for your poor judgement. It's not society's fault that you put that call through--no one was sitting there in the station with a gun to your head forcing you do that. Just two idiots who thought they were funnier than everyone else--and really nothing but a pair of stupid idiots with the mentality of a playground bully.

I think there are many pranks and crap that people try to excuse off because no one wants to say "you are a fcking immature bully" and you know damn well if someone pulled a prank like that on them they'd be screaming bloody murder all over the place. Too much blame passing--no one cares about the person on the end of the "joke" and how it's going to affect them. They don't think about that because they simply don't care. As long as it makes them feel like they scored a hit, then that's all that matters.

[Cachoo]

I felt the prank was done in poor taste but I also thought the initial reaction to the prank was way over-the-top. When there is so much going on in the world to see an attempted prank call make the national evening news broadcasts in the US was ridiculous imho. And that also goes for the ensuing finger pointing at the hospital for making the mistake of putting the call through. No wonder that poor woman felt badly.

[bek]

This is an interesting read. While I agree that what the DJs did was stupid, the blame has to stop somewhere.

Former television journalist's own experience makes her sympathetic to radio pair

Well was the story that this journalist wrote true? However I am not sure how you can compare someone in the media exposing someone cheating customers. Vs what these radio host people did. What they did was NOT journalism. Everyone knew Catherine was in the hospital. Everyone knew she was pregnant. They were trying to get information-that they were not entitled too. Its not even comparable.

To be honest. I think the nurses in question should be able to sue these radio hosts (especially the other one on the tape). Did the lady agree to be on the radio show? And be humilated like that. There was nothing newsworthy about it and why should the radio show be able to use that lady for profit. That radio show should be sued.

[duane]

Has any proof been found that the prank had anything to do with the nurse's suicide? I still don't understand the link...she's not the nurse who gave the confidential information, there was never a question of this nurse getting in trouble. That she killed herself is a tragedy, as is every suicide, but it may not have anything to do with the prank.

I immediately thought this when I read this story, and suspect that eventually, it will be determined that the prank had little--if anything--to do with the suicide.

[mkats]

^ I don't know if the story she wrote about is true. But the similarity is that in both cases, someone died because they humiliated them. Was the case in the above article much more warranted? Yes, of course. Were the DJs moronic and out of line? Yes, obviously. But they didn't set out to cause Jacintha Saldanha's death, however idiotic their original intentions, and we have no proof that their actions directly caused her death. Should they be fired, disciplined, not allowed back on the air, well I'd be in favor of that. But given that there was no way of foreseeing what ended up happening, I don't feel like we can hold them directly responsible for the fact that someone committed suicide.

I think that's all the author was getting at - that all the hysteria in either direction, looking for someone to blame, is not good for anybody.

[Eden]

It is very sad when a foolish act triggers a suiside, but I doubt that it was the only reason for the nurse to end her life.
RIP

[bek]

^ I don't know if the story she wrote about is true. But the similarity is that in both cases, someone died because they humiliated them. Was the case in the above article much more warranted? Yes, of course. Were the DJs moronic and out of line? Yes, obviously. But they didn't set out to cause Jacintha Saldanha's death, however idiotic their original intentions, and we have no proof that their actions directly caused her death. Should they be fired, disciplined, not allowed back on the air, well I'd be in favor of that. But given that there was no way of foreseeing what ended up happening, I don't feel like we can hold them directly responsible for the fact that someone committed suicide.

I think that's all the author was getting at - that all the hysteria in either direction, looking for someone to blame, is not good for anybody.

Maybe they couldn't have forseen it. But the fact of the matter is they had no idea who they were pulling a prank on either. She was an anonymous stranger. I suspect that maybe this nurses's friends and family could have foreseen it.

However what they should have as reasonable people forseen is that showing the ability to get personal information about the Duchess's health might put a lot of stress on the Duchess who is already experiencing a hard pregnancy-that is easily forseeable. And the Duchess's medical condition was not ha! ha! funny joke. Women have died from it. Babies have been lost from it.

And something easily foreseeabe is someone losing their job and livelhood over that. So yes essentially ruining someone's life. And at the end of the day this wasn't somebody out to commit a crime.. Or someone who signed up as a public figure. But just someone who wanted to save lives as a nurse and was apparently proud to work at the hospital that serves the Queen. Proud to the point of living away from her family on the weekdays...

When you pull a prank like that on someone you don't know-yes you bare some responsibility from the unforseen consquences. Especially because we live in a very global world now. And some cultures hold the idea of honor and saving face to be of extreme importance. So what may seem like a silly get over it moment for some-isn't the same for others.

And then you may have others who may just be in a very fragile state just in general and not up for at all to be ridiculed worldwide. These pranksters were essentially messing with people they didn't know, who they had no business even talking too.

[MacMadame]

Has it been determined it was suicide? I read she had been found on the street a few blocks from the hospital. That makes suicide seem less likely than some sort of mugging gone wrong or an accidental death such a heart attack. It seems more likely to me that someone accosted her on the street for her part in this prank and that led to the death in some way.

[orbitz]

I disagree. Pranks are harmless only if they cause no permanent harm. If their prank was successful and nurses gave confidential material, those people could lose their jobs. There is nothing harmless about tricking someone to losing their job..

The jockeys weren't out to cause the nurses to lose their jobs, and they didn't go through some elaborate scenario to try and convince the nurses that they were members of the royal family; They simply spoke in a fake English accent. The nurse broke the patient's confidentiality rule. If she had lost her job because of it then it would've been deserved.

[floskate]

Has it been determined it was suicide? I read she had been found on the street a few blocks from the hospital. That makes suicide seem less likely than some sort of mugging gone wrong or an accidental death such a heart attack. It seems more likely to me that someone accosted her on the street for her part in this prank and that led to the death in some way.

Link? Everything I have read and seen on the news here in the UK indicates that her body was found in a nurses accommodation building round the corner from the hospital.