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How horrible -- Nurse who took Middleton prank call reportedly found dead

unsinkable

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Elinor Everywhere

Elinor Everywhere

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A poster on Imp's thread noted that the public would have forgotten the whole thing shortly, and knowing the attention span of most people, that is probably true. I feel so sorry for this woman - I wish she would have taken a vacation somewhere to get away for a while before resorting to suicide. So incredibly sad.

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unsinkable

unsinkable

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A poster on Imp's thread noted that the public would have forgotten the whole thing shortly, and knowing the attention span of most people, that is probably true. I feel so sorry for this woman - I wish she would have taken a vacation somewhere to get away for a while before resorting to suicide. So incredibly sad.

 

 

Maybe over here in America people would have forgotten. But in her "circle" -- esp. in the medical profession -- I'm sure it would have followed her for a long, long time.

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Guest submarines

Guest submarines

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Maybe over here in America people would have forgotten. But in her "circle" -- esp. in the medical profession -- I'm sure it would have followed her for a long, long time.

 

 

Really? Was it that terrible of a judgement error? From what I understand, she forwarded the caller to another nurse, thus implicitly allowing the second nurse to share the information?

 

I bet they staff at the hospital have a clear protocol regarding their royal patients and their privacy. Phone calls must surely go through some kind of a screening routine. Something caused that nurse to violate the policy, so there's more to the story.

 

Very tragic.

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unsinkable

unsinkable

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Really? Was it that terrible of a judgement error? From what I understand, she forwarded the caller to another nurse, thus implicitly allowing the second nurse to share the information?

 

I bet they staff at the hospital have a clear protocol regarding their royal patients and their privacy. Phone calls must surely go through some kind of a screening routine. Something caused that nurse to violate the policy, so there's more to the story.

 

Very tragic.

 

 

I don't think it was 'that terrible of a judgement error' at all. But I know human nature. And I've seen the pile-ons that can happen in groups of people. I've seen people mocked mercilessly for less...

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Just Kate

Just Kate

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I wouldn't count on that. There is a history of media who do this sort of thing with the "justification" that they can do whatever it takes to get a scoop.

 

Yeah...you may be right. But how sad is it (assuming she did commit suicide) that this nurse felt like making a mistake, or being part of a mistake, was worth taking her life??? That just boggles my mind!

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PrincessMommy

PrincessMommy

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I don't think it was 'that terrible of a judgement error' at all. But I know human nature. And I've seen the pile-ons that can happen in groups of people. I've seen people mocked mercilessly for less...

 

 

I agree. People can be terribly cruel. She made a big mistake, but like you said - human nature. We don't know what frame of mind she was in or how much pressure/ridicule she was under. How very sad and tragic for everyone.

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gardenmom5

gardenmom5

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Maybe over here in America people would have forgotten. But in her "circle" -- esp. in the medical profession -- I'm sure it would have followed her for a long, long time.

the hospital made clear she was not being punished for being sucked in by the hoaxsters. (though they were revising their phone procedures).

 

that doesn't mean she wasn't feeling terrible about it, and therein lies the tragedy of this.

 

I'd love to have some of the paparazzi pursue the hoaxsters and see what they now have to say for themselves. they're really quite juevinille. It's the sort of thing 12 yo girls do. (and I've personally known three that did. one in particular who loved to pretend to be "the other woman". and I've read enough elsehwere to know some women fall for it.)

eta: and no, I don't think this will change their behavior in future. (wherein lies the tragedy for them. they won't grow up.)

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Catherine

Catherine

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As a medical person, I really have to lay some of the blame on the hospital. Our hospital, like many, has an absolute policy against giving out any kind of patient information, other than "condition," over the telephone, to anyone. If that policy had been in place, she would never have taken the call in the first place, as all similar calls are fielded by secretaries who inform the caller of the policy. It's heartbreaking that she was ever put in the position to take this call in the first place.

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Laura Corin

Laura Corin

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As a medical person, I really have to lay some of the blame on the hospital. Our hospital, like many, has an absolute policy against giving out any kind of patient information, other than "condition," over the telephone, to anyone. If that policy had been in place, she would never have taken the call in the first place, as all similar calls are fielded by secretaries who inform the caller of the policy. It's heartbreaking that she was ever put in the position to take this call in the first place.

 

Just for reference: the protocol is different at British hospitals, in my experience. I was able to call up and discuss my mother's state of health when she was in hospital, and was glad to be able to do so. Of course, particular policies should be in place for those in the public eye, particularly as this hospital habitually takes royal patients.

 

Laura

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Elizabeth in MN

Elizabeth in MN

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I feel horrible that the nurse killed herself over this stupid hoax. Her life was worth so much more than having made just one small mistake, one that didn't even end up with permanent damage to anyone.

 

All that said, my heart breaks not only for her husband and children, but for Kate and William. They created a life, and now because of the stupidity of two people there has been a death. William lost his mother to crazy media hounds, and now this.

 

The DJs have closed their Twitter accounts and it looks like the radio station closed their Facebook page.

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Guest submarines

Guest submarines

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I wouldn't count on that. There is a history of media who do this sort of thing with the "justification" that they can do whatever it takes to get a scoop.

 

 

I don't think the pranksters did anything that wrong either. A prank is a prank, and out of all pranks this one seemed rather harmless. Such things just can't be foreseen.

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Jean in Newcastle

Jean in Newcastle

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I don't think the pranksters did anything that wrong either. A prank is a prank, and out of all pranks this one seemed rather harmless. Such things just can't be foreseen.

 

I can't disagree more. For one thing, this was not a prank in the way I understand the word. It was an attempt to get around the privacy of the Royals during a difficult time. That isn't funny even if no one got hurt. And while they might not have foreseen a death, anyone with an ounce of sense would foresee embarrassment, anger and frustration from the people impacted by it.

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aggieamy

aggieamy

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I don't think the pranksters did anything that wrong either. A prank is a prank, and out of all pranks this one seemed rather harmless. Such things just can't be foreseen.

 

And to this I have to say ... see Jean's thoughts.

 

I can't disagree more. For one thing, this was not a prank in the way I understand the word. It was an attempt to get around the privacy of the Royals during a difficult time. That isn't funny even if no one got hurt. And while they might not have foreseen a death, anyone with an ounce of sense would foresee embarrassment, anger and frustration from the people impacted by it.

 

Yes. I totally agree.

 

I HATE pranks.

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catz

catz

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Such a horrible story! I'm thinking she probably had some underlying issues as well. Poor thing- rest in peace.

 

:iagree: I have a feeling we will never know the whole story. It's absolutely tragic, of course. :crying: This is a wife and a mother. But I find it highly unlikely that this one event resulted in her suicide. Mentally stable people do not walk through life happy as a clam one day and commit suicide days later as the result of a single event. I will also say, we have no idea how her employer reacted to this prank either. She may have been feeling extreme pressure from her employer or others. I suspect this poor woman was carrying some very heavy baggage. Thinking of her family.

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Brilliant

Brilliant

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Mentally stable people do not walk through life happy as a clam one day and commit suicide days later as the result of a single event.

 

This. I don't like pranks, but I don't think the DJs are responsible for her death.

 

Today I read the obit for Greg Mortensen's ghost writer who just killed himself. As much as I dislike Mortensen, I can't blame him for the author's death as clearly there was something else wrong.

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staceyobu

staceyobu

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I feel really badly for Kate. What a horrible way to begin a pregnancy.

 

It sounded as if the palace had been very forgiving of the whole incident. I heard Prince Charles was joking with the media about it.

 

The details the nurse gave didn't really amount to anything anyways. Of course she was dehydrated when she went in. Of course they gave her fluids. Of course she was probably trying to sleep. It was nothing compared to the French chateau pictures.

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countrygal

countrygal

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I guess I see that she could see her professional career at stake - atleast in the US you can't discuss anything with anyone over the phone, Royal family or homeless bum, unless the patient has it documented. You can lose your job and/or license for violating privacy. I'm sure she was honestly thinking that these people were who they said they were. I probably would have! Shame shame on them. It was not her fault. This saddens me terribly :(

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Murphy101

Murphy101

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Oh come on. No one was taking this prank serious. The royal family was joking about it. The hospital did not reprimand anyone. And this nurse did NOT actually take the call. She transferred the call to the nurse who did take it and talked to the DJs. Let's not throw our sense of humor out the window here and let's not place blame where it doesn't belong.

 

This nurse committed suicide and that's tragic and sad, but I don't believe for one minute it had anything to do with a call she transferred a couple days ago. I can't believe that's even being seriously considered.

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Denisemomof4

Denisemomof4

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:iagree: I have a feeling we will never know the whole story. It's absolutely tragic, of course. :crying: This is a wife and a mother. But I find it highly unlikely that this one event resulted in her suicide. Mentally stable people do not walk through life happy as a clam one day and commit suicide days later as the result of a single event. I will also say, we have no idea how her employer reacted to this prank either. She may have been feeling extreme pressure from her employer or others. I suspect this poor woman was carrying some very heavy baggage. Thinking of her family.

 

 

I agree. I feel that there absolutely must be more to this story. It makes NO Sense that someone would end their life due to distress from passing said call through to another nurse.

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Guest submarines

Guest submarines

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I can't disagree more. For one thing, this was not a prank in the way I understand the word. It was an attempt to get around the privacy of the Royals during a difficult time. That isn't funny even if no one got hurt. And while they might not have foreseen a death, anyone with an ounce of sense would foresee embarrassment, anger and frustration from the people impacted by it.

 

My guess is that it didn't occur to them that they'd get through. They probably thought that their attempts would be the source of laughter, not the fact that they'd be given any information.

 

If I were to call a hospital in Australia and ask about a condition of a certain celebrity that is being treated there, I certainly wouldn't expect any information, and if in the process I was trying to fake Australian accent to sound like Julia Gillard, I would expect most of the laughs being on me.

 

Besides, they didn't call when a Royal was gravely ill. Pregnancy, even a difficult one, is not "a difficult time for the Royals."

 

For the record, I really detest pranks, I don't like April's Fool, and I think most of typical pranks are terribly cruel, even the ones considered fun and innocent by most. I don't think what they did was terribly smart, but as far as pranks go, quite harmless. The results are tragic, though.

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sewingmama

sewingmama

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I wouldn't count on that. There is a history of media who do this sort of thing with the "justification" that they can do whatever it takes to get a scoop.

 

 

These people were not media reporters - they were DJ's on a breakfast radio show - their job is to make people laugh on the way to work and play good music. They were not trying to get information about the royals - they didn't expect the prank to go any further then the receptionist - they fully expected to be told to go away. I hate to say it because it sounds awful given the circumstances - but the prank was supposed to be on the receptionist -not the royals.

 

They called thinking they would not get through and when they did get through they were kind of speechless and just ended up saying that "they were happy to hear she was doing well" which they were sincere about.

 

Both of the DJ's are now under medical care because both of them are having a terrible time handling what happened.

 

If anyone is to blame I blame it on the producers of the show. This is notthe first time they have had to pull one of thier presenters from the air for a prank gone wrong. Las time (it was not the same DJ's) they strapped a 14 yo girl to a lie detector and were asking about her sexual history ( I think they were tryingto prove that parents don't know what their kids get up too) and the girl admitted she had been raped.

 

Sureley there are producersand script writers coming up with this stuff - it isn't just the DJ's doing it on the spur of the moment.

 

It is being thoroughly investigated,Scotland yard is involved ad well as the media standards commission.

 

These DJ's shouldn't be crucified for something they were probably told to do.

 

I can understand why that nurse might have killed herself though - the job of nursing for the royals was a plumb job - one that many nurses would see as the pinnacle of being trusted and a testament of their great skills. Its no mean feat to get that job. To have failed in protecting the royals privacy would have been a huge blow to her career self esteem. It's her job description to keep them private - she was supposed to be above "human nature" KWIM.

 

It is very common in Australia for DJ's (on every radio station) to make prank phone calls. Yes it's probably infantile but the public love it and I've yet to hear of anyone who was pranked who didn't end up laughing at the end of it.

 

 

For anyone who is interested -here is the actual call

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MjPPMLlZqo

 

Judge for yourself

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Murphy101

Murphy101

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Besides, they didn't call when a Royal was gravely ill. Pregnancy, even a difficult one, is not "a difficult time for the Royals."

 

I put a like on your post, but I have to say I detest this attitude. Calling hypermesis a "difficult" pregnancy is like calling heart disease difficult blood circulation. I have no doubt it is easier for the royals in many ways than us common peons. Better and faster care. Servants. But none of that changes how awful hypermesis is. And I still, after years of going through it, hold deep resentment for people who ignorantly and blithely proclaimed I just didn't look bad enough for their compassion or sympathy or that it must not be that bad or I would abort, not get pregnant or whatever.

 

Hypermesis is awful. And many women, in a desperate attempt to avoid depression usually, will fake being better than they are. (ETA: hypermesis is usually much longer than typical morning sickness. You try losing your job, your health, and being secluded by sickness and meds that mostly make you sleep 24/7 for 5 months or more and see if you don't start desperately trying anything to feel alive and hopeful and grab some cheer.) I distinctly remember silently crying while trying to throw up as quietly as I could once because I wanted just one day where my kids could play with other kids instead of feeling punished by not having compan over bc I was puking. *I* was actually fine with company. Craved it even. But most people don't want to be around a puking person. And for many women, they have work to do and the job won't wait for them. Yeah. I also remember puking at work with my first two. I remember a boss being horrified that I puked in a trash can because I couldn't make it to the bathroom and they noticed blood in the can. I puked, a customer walked in and I swished some salt water and talked fabric between swallowing vomiy until I made the sale and puked again.

 

Do not confuse women doing what they feel they must with women not being terribly, and sometimes even dangerously, ill. Being pregnant doesn't change that for many women. Heck. Probably most.

 

The royals are men and women too. Tho I'm sure many aspects are easier for them due to money and influence, I'm also sure a difficult pregnancy IS a difficult time for them same as it is for any other person who actually loves their spouse and hopes to hold their unborn baby.

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Murphy101

Murphy101

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For anyone who is interested -here is the actual call

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MjPPMLlZqo

 

Judge for yourself

 

Thank you! LOL Okay that was awful and hilarious. And the nurse didn't really tell them diddly that wasn't already in the media. Kate is resting, being hydrated, and very stable. Visiting time is after 9am. Big whoop.

 

The imitations really were just awful and obviously joking.

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gardenmom5

gardenmom5

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if in the process I was trying to fake Australian accent to sound like Julia Gillard, I would expect most of the laughs being on me.

.

unless you get someone who is not a native of austrailia as the nurse was native to india - not england. so who is to say how readily she could identify a genuine accent vs a faked one.

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gardenmom5

gardenmom5

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I put a like on your post, but I have to say I detest this attitude. Calling hypermesis a "difficult" pregnancy is like calling heart disease difficult blood circulation. none of that changes how awful hypermesis is. And I still, after years of going through it, hold deep resentment for people who ignorantly and blithely proclaimed I just didn't look bad enough for their compassion or sympathy or that it must not be that bad or I would abort, not get pregnant or whatever.

 

Hypermesis is awful.

I've had friends with it. I'm surprised you left out the vomit that consisted of nothing but bile for hours on end because everything else was long gone. (after all, the "unenlightened" need the full picture. ;p) One friend couldn't leave her home becasue she was vomiting at least every 10 - 15 minutes all day, every day almost until delivery. she was occasionally hospitalized for IV hydration.

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Murphy101

Murphy101

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Oh dear I gave the very pleasant side of HG. :)

 

I'll likely never go into it all with someone. Just isn't worth rehashing my own psych or dealing with their judgements. And it doesn't matter in the end. One does what needs done and tears don't make it any easier to do it.

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MrsBasil

MrsBasil

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I've had friends with it. I'm surprised you left out the vomit that consisted of nothing but bile for hours on end because everything else was long gone. (after all, the "unenlightened" need the full picture. ;p) One friend couldn't leave her home becasue she was vomiting at least every 10 - 15 minutes all day, every day almost until delivery. she was occasionally hospitalized for IV hydration.

 

 

That was me. I never need a pump, because I never left the couch. If I moved too much(like walking to the end of the driveway) I ended up needing IV hydration, so I stayed on the couch. We couldn't afford for my DH to take off work to take me to the hospital and watch the kids, plus each visit was $100. So I survived pregnancy by basically laying on the couch or sitting in the same position for hours a day. I vomited a ot, but with round the clock medication and barely moving I managed to avoid the hospital. Most of the time.

 

As for the prank, I generally find prank calls with the intent of humiliating someone in poor taste. I think a bad end to one of these pranks was inevitable(not necessarily this particular one) and I think the radio station and the DJs have some culpability with their poor judgement.

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butterflymommy

butterflymommy

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Just for reference: the protocol is different at British hospitals, in my experience. I was able to call up and discuss my mother's state of health when she was in hospital, and was glad to be able to do so. Of course, particular policies should be in place for those in the public eye, particularly as this hospital habitually takes royal patients.

 

Laura

 

I just realized, we had a friend in england who went in for surgery... I tried to reach the room extension but couldn't get through and was somehow forwarded to the nurses' station. A very sweet and polite nurse gave me his medical rundown and told me how he was doing. I'm realizing now that never would happen in the US. I'm not even sure they will confirm a person is a patient here.

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