Nurse that took hoax call

[maritap]

Very sad news about the death of the nurse that took the hoax call at hospital where Kate was. I'm guessing she was reprimanded and couldn't handle the pressure. Very sad that two morons should be the cause of this woman taking her own life. My heart goes out to her family.

[computedshorty]

Sad news of the suicide of that nurse, now we know that she was not english and miight not be aware of the English dialects and language might not be to familiar to distinguish an upper class voice from a cockney, put on the spot over the telephone by a person saying she was the Queen. Very sad.

[StraferJack]

Awful death but step back a minute. Why would being the victim of a prank call cause someone to commit suicide (which seems to be the jist of what people are saying?)

Must be more to this surely

[maritap]

I wonder if she felt really silly for not realising that it wasn't the queen or she was pulled up by management and just couldn't live with herself. I guess we'll find out eventually. Sad in any case

[PaulK]

Must have had a royal bollocking. Diana anyone ?

[StraferJack]

Desperately sad. But people seem to be over-blaming a pair of idiots Half way around the world

[Otta]

Hoax calls have been going on for years. This woman answered the phone, she never actually gave out any info. My first thought was that maybe she was very harshly dealt with after, but it appears not.

I'm with Strafer, there must have been things already wrong for this to tip her over the edge, I just can't imagine that falling for a joke would drive you to kill yourself.

I imagine the DJs will be feeling pretty rotten anyway, but to actually blame the death on them is ridiculous.

[maritap]

Very true otta, but whatever her troubles were, their actions may have pushed her over the edge. That being said Prince Charles was joking about it yesterday so I think the royals didn't take it toooo seriously. The nurse may well have had her own troubles

[Jeremy]

It was far from the worst hoax call in the history of broadcasting. The two DJs could never have known this would happen, it's totally wrong to blame them, however idiotic they may be.

[the-e-dealer]

It was her job. She caused a breach of Medical Confidentiality. Very Serious even if she wasn't told off Which I don't believe. She was humiliated, looked a fool and jeopordised her job- which included her home. The real blame should be with the Management. When someone so important is in the hospital they should establish a procedure to prevent fakers getting through. Its not as if Journos haven't used phone trickery to get stories in the past or I did I dream it?

[Marmora Man]

the-e-dealer Wrote:

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> It was her job. She caused a breach of Medical

> Confidentiality. Very Serious even if she wasn't

> told off Which I don't believe. She was

> humiliated, looked a fool and jeopordised her job-

> which included her home. The real blame should be

> with the Management. When someone so important is

> in the hospital they should establish a procedure

> to prevent fakers getting through. Its not as if

> Journos haven't used phone trickery to get stories

> in the past or I did I dream it?

1. The nurse in question did not reveal any medical details - she passed on a call from a hoaxer.

2. I know the CEO of the King Edward's hospital - I am absolutely certain that if he said there was no disciplinary action taken then there wasn't.

3. Yes - management should have put in place protocols to prevent improper access to VIPs. I would be most surprised if there weren't any. The usual process for contacting, or being contacted by, any member of the royal family would involve a member of the royal household - the hoaxers, however, called during a night shift and spoke to the senior nurse in charge and fooled her. So the major fault lies with the hoaxers and not management.

4. As others have pointed out - this incident, while sad and distressing, must have come on top of other problems that the nurse was experiencing - alone it is surely unlikely to have led to a, presumed, suicide.

[Gidget]

MM,

I fail to see how the major fault lies with the hoaxers and not management. When stars etc. check into hotels they usually check in under another name and that name has to be used when being put through to their room. A similar sort of procedure should be in place for famous people in hospitals. The fact that the hospital did not have one, or that they don't drill their staff adequately enough, or don't hire someone with the ability to decipher accents is their fault.

[StraferJack]

Or maybe, just maybe no blame needs to be apportioned anywhere here

The death is awful, but everything else (prank phone calls, helpful medical staff, no VIPs hurt in any way) suggests a functioning society. Leave it alone

[Gidget]

Perhaps the thread should be locked then.

[the-e-dealer]

I know an Australian and a Journalist. I also know a receptionist and have taken phone calls myself once or twice. I also know sensitive people who could well be so upset by a hoax that suicide could become an option. I am glad that the Australian Regulator has decided this is a serious matter that needs looking at. I'm sure Mr Hospital CEO is a jolly fine chap but even if he is he is not the nurse's line manager or an other senior colleague who could have given her a hard time. Another CEO A Mt Murdoch has already explained how you cant know everything that is going on.

I was also the victim of a caller threatening to kill me on several occasions because I was listed as a contact for a public organisation. . It was a very unpleasant experience and showed me how a few words on the phone could disrupt your life for months.

[maxxi]

t-e-d: "I also know sensitive people who could well be so upset by a hoax that suicide could become an option."

Those are not sensitive people - they are suicidal people.

[Marmora Man]

"Root cause analysis" of this situation would reveal the hoax telephone call as the trigger - without that nothing would have occurred and this debate would not be happening.

Other failings were evidently a lack of a good 24/7 screening process and a lack of professional competence on the part of the nurse that actually did divulge medical information - but these were secondary issues and affected the scale of the consequences and did not cause the event.

Any defence based upon "I didn't know / expect / think that my prank would have tragic consequences" or "their processes should have detected and stopped me" are simply trying to shift blame from the originator. Rather like an arsonist acknowledging he started the fire but blaming the building's lack of an automatic fire suppression system and the fire brigade's late arrival for the subsequent damage.

[the-e-dealer]

Maxxi that is clever.

[TE44]

I think if the nurse who gave out the information is lacking professional copetence, the hospital have gave no indication they adressed that with either of the nurses, in fact they have only spoke of there support for them. I think the nurse who gave out the information will now be in a situation where she is not allowed to discuss what reprimand was given if any.

[ianr]

There is an established "eggshell skull rule" that may be relevant:

"This rule holds one liable for all consequences resulting from his or her tortious (usually negligent) activities leading to an injury to another person, even if the victim suffers an unusually high level of damage (e.g. due to a pre-existing vulnerability or medical condition)." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggshell_skull

I don't want to discuss or prattle about this painful case here but prefer a respectful silence, until at least the inquest.

[alice]

agree - close this thread please

[Huguenot]

What is it about people who come onto threads in order to control what other people may or may not talk about.

If you want people to be mindful of the tragedy then feel free to use your persuasive powers. Force them to conform by shutting the thread? Who do you think you are?

[DJKillaQueen]

There is no doubt that for anyone to commit suicide, there will be an underlying case of severe depresssion. And many people who suffer from depression work very hard to hide it (with good reason). We don't know what other things were going on in this woman's life, and whether she was isolated with her feelings, or receiving help. At worst the hoax call I think would have been the final straw in an ongoing sequence of distress. And I'm sure the DJs are feeling just as distressed by the tragic outcome.

[LondonMix]

I can't see how the call alone could result in a suicide. No one should be able to get anyone's private medical information ever over the phone improperly. Regardless of the fact that it was a VIP, this fact alone suggests a significant failing in hospital procedures and for me at least is the most worrying part of the incident.

[Marmora Man]

LondonMix Wrote:

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No one should be able to get anyone's private medical information ever over the phone improperly. This fact alone suggests a significant failing in hospital procedures and for me at least is the most worrying part of the incident.

It is a professional responsibility of all clinicians - doctors, nurses, physics, radiographers etc to respect patient confidentiality and not discuss medical conditions with anyone, even close relatives, without the patient's permission. All hospital will reinforce this but they cannot ensure it without individual clinicians taking responsibility. So the divulging of private medical information it is not / was not a failing of hospital procedures - it was an individual failing.

However, I come back to my earlier point. It was the Australian DJs tha t are responsible. The first nurse (the one that has sadly died) was hoaxed into believing she was speaking to the Queen - she probably told the ward nurse this who, as a result, assumed that there was authority / approval for her to pass on the information. The situation may also have been affected by a degree of reverence for or awe of the royal family in the hospital.