What a cross section of views we got on this thread eh....from 'ang the Aussies' to `canonize the nurse' and everything inbetween.....well maybe not everything but i'll come to that later.
What a story though....bizarre. That phone call could have been answered by the next 100,000 people that came along, they f*** up like she did, they take a hastily chucked together `new' protocol on how to deal with enquiries from their bosses and the inevitable ribbing by their work colleagues...and then become a nameless pawn in the future telling of the incident.... ...but it wasn't. It was answered by a person named Jacintha Saldanha who appears to have been a tragically fragile individual who crumbled under the percieved pressure of what engulfed her. We obviously don't know her real situation and on the face of it there must have been other factors that contributed to her reaching the dreadful conclusion she came to but we may never know. Now this might sound harsh but i'm afraid it's just `one of those things' imo. Of course the Aussie radio station/presenters are guilty of a cheap, potentially cruel and limited comedy value scam but our society is riddled with this kinda stuff. We just except it. Someone mentioned earlier in this thread that phoney phone calls were so 90's over here but I don't recall anyone saying at the time such things could possibly kill people....and thats because of course they shouldn't. This individuals reaction is an anomaly, a tragic and desperately sad anomaly for her family but an anomaly just the same. It's also an anomaly that ruins the careers of those Aussie presenters. I obviously don't know who they are but good riddance to rubbish and they've only got themselves to blame. They played it cheap and got kicked in the bollox by their own stunt. W@nkers.
*whispering* The Queen doesn't make phone calls like this anyway....she would have her `people' at the hospital relaying info to her. In fact i'd guess she can't remember the last time she directly dialed a number herself. School boy error by the nurse.
And how about this for an alternate view.....the whole nurses suicide story is fake. The creation of the Royals PR machine to strike back and keep in check the gutter press.
The Queen: "Pheelip, Pheelip! If Chelsea can f*** up Clattenburg we can f*** up the Aussies...make it so!"
She should have been doing her job properly. But still I can't see why she would kill herself just because of what happened, she must have been depressed or have something else going on in her life that pushed her over the edge.
I think the whole Australian prank thing is quite irrelevant in all of this. The photographer who managed to get Kate topless was more shocking and dangerous.
Sometimes things are so tragic that I cant even have an opinion, the who thing is so very sad for everyone involved that I just cant blame or clear anyone. Pretty pointless post as I cant add anything to the debate other than a wish that the whole sorry episide had never occured
The poor woman has been humiliated across the whole world. It's pretty clear that this is an incredibly dangerous thing to do.
Before her suicide had her name even been broadcast by the press? Had her photo been released?
I could be wrong but as far as i was aware she was just referred to as "a nurse who had answered the phone", it's not like her face was front page of the tabloids.
Would anyone outside of her close work colleagues have even known it was her that answered the call and put them through?
She should have been doing her job properly. But still I can't see why she would kill herself just because of what happened, she must have been depressed or have something else going on in her life that pushed her over the edge.
I think the whole Australian prank thing is quite irrelevant in all of this. The photographer who managed to get Kate topless was more shocking and dangerous.
Don't think too many people thought it was funny in the first place. How would you feel if the boot was on the other foot. Your wife in hospital and someone decides to take the piss out of what is a pretty serious condition. About as stupid as you can get, and in this case rare as it is, has had tragic consequences. Fair enough the DJ's weren't to know that it was going to go this far but they must have known it was going to lead to some embarrassment to some poor person involved. And who still does prank calls these days???????
The poor woman has been humiliated across the whole world. It's pretty clear that this is an incredibly dangerous thing to do.
Before her suicide had her name even been broadcast by the press? Had her photo been released?
I could be wrong but as far as i was aware she was just referred to as "a nurse who had answered the phone", it's not like her face was front page of the tabloids.
Would anyone outside of her close work colleagues have even known it was her that answered the call and put them through?
So, you have never felt ashamed or embarrassed of anything you have done even if no one witnessed it or knew it was you? If she was already under pressure either in her work life or private life, something like this is capable of sending you over the edge, which it seems like it did for her.
This whole story is very sad. I'm not sure why all the recriminations to be honest though. It's an awful situation, but no-one could reasonably have foreseen that. To all those who have got it in for the DJs who made the call, just have a think about when you first heard the news story. Did anyone at the time think, what a stupid thing to do they could kill someone with a prank like that? Of course not, no-one could reasonably be expected to predict that such a thing could happen. It's only a couple of months ago that there was a pranks thread here on Charlton Life. I wonder if any of the people who wrote on that stopped to think what the most outrageous consequences of their japes could be. Frankly, I hope they didn't - if everyone regulated their behaviour to avoid any risk no matter how minimal the chances of it occurring, no-one would ever do anything.
My sympathies are with the friends and family of the lady who died, they must be going through hell at the moment. As for the DJs, I can't help but think that their suffering will be tremendous. Everyday there a millions of practical jokes played on people; it's all part of the fun of life. Just because one goes tragically wrong is no reason to start a witch hunt, especially as at the moment it is unknown what factors caused the poor lady's death. As a few others have said, I'd be very surprised if there weren't deeper underlying factors.
Stig, give yourself post of the week.
I really don't get the continual obsession to immediately pin the blame on someone after every piece of bad news. Unfortunately this kind of thing always brings the string-em-up first, ask questions later brigade out in force.
Not being able to see a consequence is not an excuse and just a cop out and if you think about it even more of a reason not to do something. If you can't make an assessment of the consequence then don't do it. Messing with peoples lives and jobs should not be acceptable especially for cheap laughs for the pathetic public. I wonder how many peoples opinions would be different if it was their family effected? People need to try and evolve mentally and think about the wider picture over what is just 'humour' and 'couldn't be reasonably foreseen". Unfortunately the majority of the public seem to accept it without thinking.
There is a popular TV prank show over here called "the chasers". One of their more controversial stunts involved going onto a kids cancer ward, would you believe, and having a "laugh" at the expense of the poor kids. Nothing is out of bounds for these scumbags. If you cant find privacy when ill in a hospital bed, then the world has become a very sad place. You can't blame the poor nurse for picking up the phone at 5am and you can't blame the management for not employing a receptionist through the night. Some Aussies take great pleasure in taking the p*ss out of the Royal Family, I hope they sleep well at night after this little prank backfired is such a tragic way. The Republican movement will have suffered as a result.
When I first heard the story presented on ITV news in a how could they be so stupid to fall for that tone, I wasn't comfortable. The blame was planted firmly on the nurse who's first language clearly wasn't English. As has been stated- accents don't register so easily when this is the case and what if you refuse the queen? An impossible situation. She was a nurse not a switchboard operator and there should have been a code system.
But what vital information was given out? - that the duchess had a good night and was ok!! FFS, hardly a damaging revelation.This world is too full of nastiness and lacking in compassion. Something needs to be done about it but being sensitive and caring about honest ordinary people is seen as a weakness.
Tragic. RIP. If Wills and Kate have a daughter then it would be fitting if they included 'Jacintha' as one of the many middle names she's likely to have.
And that is exactly why the Queen doesn't `do' phone calls like that. There are far too many pitfalls and potential `issues' attached to it so her and her advisors adopt a zero tolerance towards this sorta thing. I'm sure she speaks to family/mates etc on the blower but you'll never catch her talking to a member of the public. A lot of people would no doubt fall into the same trap as this unfortunate nurse but you have to say she was nieve to think the actual Queen was talking to her from the other end of that phone. Thats not how it works.
Tragic. RIP. If Wills and Kate have a daughter then it would be fitting if they included 'Jacintha' as one of the many middle names she's likely to have.
Hoax in bad taste and ignoring the consequences for someone else, dare I say it but quite Australian in its lack of thinking, or lack of caring howmit could affect soemone else ... However to then take you own life is an extreme reaction in my view from the nurse...
A tragic accident that could not have been foreseen.
However, what's funny or clever about putting private information into the public domain? Why is that acceptable?
Why are the pathetic Jonathan Woss and Russell Bland still in "business" after their puerile "prank"? Because lots of people found it and them funny. Society gets the media it deserves I'm afraid and this sad affair is a consequence.
By the way, when you next ring a hospital to find out how your mother is after a recent fall, but can't get through because the inside leg measurement you give them doesn't match what's on record, just remember that its morons like these Aussie Journos that are responsible. Bit extreme? Perhaps, but that's how this stuff works.
It was a really crap unfunny prank and I cant believe how poor it was. There are a load of foreign nationals working in healthcare and many wouldnt pick up on an accent - what a waste.
Devastating news that this may have caused the nurse to take her own life...
She should have been doing her job properly. But still I can't see why she would kill herself just because of what happened, she must have been depressed or have something else going on in her life that pushed her over the edge.
I think the whole Australian prank thing is quite irrelevant in all of this. The photographer who managed to get Kate topless was more shocking and dangerous.
What?
You don't just give information about patients in a hospital over the phone. Especially not the royals. Everyone were saying what idiots the hospital staff were when it happened and now all of a sudden they are poor victims.
And before you say that they don't deserve to die that clearly isn't what I am saying.
i'd imagine there were underlying issues there too.
It's not common for one "incident" alone to make someone take their own life. I suspect there were a few others but without question this would not have helped. RIP
It was a tragic incident but for all the people wanting to see the DJ's prosecuted can i ask this, did you think that after the press reported the prank, if so then fine your view has merit but if it was not until after the story of the nurse taking her own life then how is that any different from the DJ's not seeing the future.
apples and oranges... prank against a work pal or a hospital looking after a sick and pregnant royal with potentially the future king or queen in her belly are slightly different no ?
Lets be sensible. There was a prank, many of us have partaken in workplace pranks over the years.
I once phoned a colleague at home on holiday and in a fake accent convinced him that I was somebody from the local water authority about to turn his water off. I told him to fill kettles and baths with water as it would be off for days. He came back and told all his colleagues that his water was off. We all laughed, he was embarrassed and I dined out on the story. The impact on the victim was small, and it was not amplified beyond a few workplace mates.
In this case this poor nurse was embarrassed, not in front of a few colleagues, but across the whole world and replayed over and over again.
Those who plan and take part in pranks with wholly innocent unsuspecting victims caught up in their desire for a few cheap laughs on TV show need to take a long hard look at what impact they could have on their unsuspecting prey.
Other media outlets like the BBC should also be careful that they are not compounding the mistakes of the pranksters by amplifying it.
I was shocked and saddened to hear of this poor nurses death. I can't image how humiliated and utterly devastated she must have felt to have taken her own life.
apples and oranges... prank against a work pal or a hospital looking after a sick and pregnant royal with potentially the future king or queen in her belly are slightly different no ?
Lets be sensible. There was a prank, many of us have partaken in workplace pranks over the years.
I once phoned a colleague at home on holiday and in a fake accent convinced him that I was somebody from the local water authority about to turn his water off. I told him to fill kettles and baths with water as it would be off for days. He came back and told all his colleagues that his water was off. We all laughed, he was embarrassed and I dined out on the story. The impact on the victim was small, and it was not amplified beyond a few workplace mates.
In this case this poor nurse was embarrassed, not in front of a few colleagues, but across the whole world and replayed over and over again.
Those who plan and take part in pranks with wholly innocent unsuspecting victims caught up in their desire for a few cheap laughs on TV show need to take a long hard look at what impact they could have on their unsuspecting prey.
Other media outlets like the BBC should also be careful that they are not compounding the mistakes of the pranksters by amplifying it.
I was shocked and saddened to hear of this poor nurses death. I can't image how humiliated and utterly devastated she must have felt to have taken her own life.
The point I was making was that pranks are commonplace, it depends upon the audience and the affect on the victim.
I don't think the issue is the hospital, my guess is that just like any other workplace, pranks will occur. (Just read Richard Gordons "Doctor" books, written by a doctor).
The problem here was a media organisation, blagging their way to get to Kate's nurse, taping it, and then broadcasting it to world at large and in the course of so doing humiliating a nurse who should not have been exposed in that way.
As for why that tipped her over into suicide, well of course we may learn that she was depressed but my guess is that she couldn't deal with the shame she felt at being tricked. Shame is a terribly damaging feeling. If you cannot face your colleagues and friends it is a very lonely and frightening world you are left with.
I truly hope that the Russell Brand "anything for cheap laughs" culture that has become commonplace in the broadcast media is now going to be curtailed.
how anybody has any sympathy for these aussies is beyond me Totally irresponsible and no better than the scammers whoa re are after your bank acccoount details
how anybody has any sympathy for these aussies is beyond me Totally irresponsible and no better than the scammers whoa re are after your bank acccoount details
I have massive sympathy for "these aussies". They did nothing wrong at all.
It is the way the incident was reported by certain fractions of the media and the hospital in question that need to examine their navels in my opinion.
Can't forget the part the good old free british press played in all this. Hyped one poor nurse being tricked by a prank into making it sound like she personally could have hurt the Duchess/the baby through deliberate negligence/stupidity. If they had put responsibility on the Ozzies back then instead of after the event things may be different.
None of us know the full circumstances of the tragic death of this lady so summising there any other factors and apportioning responsibility at this stage is probably inappropriate.
What is not is to condemn the prank in the first place. There is a huge difference between playing a joke on someone you know and tricking a perfectly innocent individual to open them up to global scrutiny.
Most of us grow out of playing pranks in early adolescence. What is it about sections of the modern generation, a number of whom appear to be employed in the media, that seem to glory in such banality? I note even today judging by the social network response there is a markedly different reaction between the Australian media and the Australian public.
For such people at what point does the switch off brain process become automatic? What is remotely funny about tricking an ordinary hardworking nurse and exposing her to global public ridicule? At what point does troubling any public figure being treated in hospital for whatever reason become "fair game"?
My increasing concern is the apparently growing numbers in society who seem to think such practice is the norm and perfectly acceptable. On what possible basis? As others have suggested would you want such an experience to happen to your mother or sister? I suggest not. What happened to treating others as you would wish to be treated?
The idea was unpleasant in its concept but on securing the confidential information (which alone could cost someone their job) to make a deliberate decision to broadcast and promote this travesty was beyond cruel. This was no joke betweens mates this was a calculated abuse of circumstance. The "prank of the century" was broadcast for corporate and personal publicity/gain.
To anyone with half a brain cell it would have been apparent the only victims in these circumstances will have been the hospital staff. Stop and think normally for 30 seconds and you would not do it. It is grotesque.
To argue, as the station does "how were the broadcasters to know the possible consequences" and "there was no malice" is feebly weak. If that were the case why not approach and seek agreement with the parties involved. It is precisely because you do not know the consequences most normal people would simply not do it. It is called common sense.
I sincerely hope the events of recent days do not prove to have been the catalyst for this lady to take her own life but for those who seem to have so much difficulty in understanding her actions let me offer the following:
No matter the support of employers & colleagues she may have felt compelled as a matter of honour (such people do exist) to resign. That in itself can be a subject of huge distress especially if she enjoyed/ needed the job and were appreciated.
People live in Bristol and work in London for a reason.
With this incident now added to her CV she would fear she had damaged her prospects of future employment with the consequent financial impact on her family. Many who have witnessed people losing their jobs to the financial detriment of their loved ones, will know the sense of failure, distress and despair that may ensue.
As the Australian radio station now asks for understanding for their presenters, because "they are human after all", one can but feel had they displayed the same understanding two children would not have to face the trauma of coming to terms with the loss of their mother possibly due the circumstances arising from a "prank".
Comments
What a story though....bizarre. That phone call could have been answered by the next 100,000 people that came along, they f*** up like she did, they take a hastily chucked together `new' protocol on how to deal with enquiries from their bosses and the inevitable ribbing by their work colleagues...and then become a nameless pawn in the future telling of the incident....
...but it wasn't. It was answered by a person named Jacintha Saldanha who appears to have been a tragically fragile individual who crumbled under the percieved pressure of what engulfed her.
We obviously don't know her real situation and on the face of it there must have been other factors that contributed to her reaching the dreadful conclusion she came to but we may never know.
Now this might sound harsh but i'm afraid it's just `one of those things' imo. Of course the Aussie radio station/presenters are guilty of a cheap, potentially cruel and limited comedy value scam but our society is riddled with this kinda stuff. We just except it. Someone mentioned earlier in this thread that phoney phone calls were so 90's over here but I don't recall anyone saying at the time such things could possibly kill people....and thats because of course they shouldn't. This individuals reaction is an anomaly, a tragic and desperately sad anomaly for her family but an anomaly just the same. It's also an anomaly that ruins the careers of those Aussie presenters. I obviously don't know who they are but good riddance to rubbish and they've only got themselves to blame. They played it cheap and got kicked in the bollox by their own stunt. W@nkers.
*whispering* The Queen doesn't make phone calls like this anyway....she would have her `people' at the hospital relaying info to her. In fact i'd guess she can't remember the last time she directly dialed a number herself. School boy error by the nurse.
And how about this for an alternate view.....the whole nurses suicide story is fake. The creation of the Royals PR machine to strike back and keep in check the gutter press.
The Queen: "Pheelip, Pheelip! If Chelsea can f*** up Clattenburg we can f*** up the Aussies...make it so!"
I think the whole Australian prank thing is quite irrelevant in all of this. The photographer who managed to get Kate topless was more shocking and dangerous.
Before her suicide had her name even been broadcast by the press? Had her photo been released?
I could be wrong but as far as i was aware she was just referred to as "a nurse who had answered the phone", it's not like her face was front page of the tabloids.
Would anyone outside of her close work colleagues have even known it was her that answered the call and put them through?
People need to try and evolve mentally and think about the wider picture over what is just 'humour' and 'couldn't be reasonably foreseen". Unfortunately the majority of the public seem to accept it without thinking.
Just off for a dance
But what vital information was given out? - that the duchess had a good night and was ok!! FFS, hardly a damaging revelation.This world is too full of nastiness and lacking in compassion. Something needs to be done about it but being sensitive and caring about honest ordinary people is seen as a weakness.
A lot of people would no doubt fall into the same trap as this unfortunate nurse but you have to say she was nieve to think the actual Queen was talking to her from the other end of that phone. Thats not how it works.
However, what's funny or clever about putting private information into the public domain? Why is that acceptable?
Why are the pathetic Jonathan Woss and Russell Bland still in "business" after their puerile "prank"? Because lots of people found it and them funny. Society gets the media it deserves I'm afraid and this sad affair is a consequence.
By the way, when you next ring a hospital to find out how your mother is after a recent fall, but can't get through because the inside leg measurement you give them doesn't match what's on record, just remember that its morons like these Aussie Journos that are responsible. Bit extreme? Perhaps, but that's how this stuff works.
Devastating news that this may have caused the nurse to take her own life...
And before you say that they don't deserve to die that clearly isn't what I am saying.
The DJ's are idiots but they are not criminals.
apples and oranges... prank against a work pal or a hospital looking after a sick and pregnant royal with potentially the future king or queen in her belly are slightly different no ?
I don't think the issue is the hospital, my guess is that just like any other workplace, pranks will occur. (Just read Richard Gordons "Doctor" books, written by a doctor).
The problem here was a media organisation, blagging their way to get to Kate's nurse, taping it, and then broadcasting it to world at large and in the course of so doing humiliating a nurse who should not have been exposed in that way.
As for why that tipped her over into suicide, well of course we may learn that she was depressed but my guess is that she couldn't deal with the shame she felt at being tricked. Shame is a terribly damaging feeling. If you cannot face your colleagues and friends it is a very lonely and frightening world you are left with.
I truly hope that the Russell Brand "anything for cheap laughs" culture that has become commonplace in the broadcast media is now going to be curtailed.
I have massive sympathy for "these aussies". They did nothing wrong at all.
It is the way the incident was reported by certain fractions of the media and the hospital in question that need to examine their navels in my opinion.
What is not is to condemn the prank in the first place. There is a huge difference between playing a joke on someone you know and tricking a perfectly innocent individual to open them up to global scrutiny.
Most of us grow out of playing pranks in early adolescence. What is it about sections of the modern generation, a number of whom appear to be employed in the media, that seem to glory in such banality? I note even today judging by the social network response there is a markedly different reaction between the Australian media and the Australian public.
For such people at what point does the switch off brain process become automatic? What is remotely funny about tricking an ordinary hardworking nurse and exposing her to global public ridicule? At what point does troubling any public figure being treated in hospital for whatever reason become "fair game"?
My increasing concern is the apparently growing numbers in society who seem to think such practice is the norm and perfectly acceptable. On what possible basis? As others have suggested would you want such an experience to happen to your mother or sister? I suggest not. What happened to treating others as you would wish to be treated?
The idea was unpleasant in its concept but on securing the confidential information (which alone could cost someone their job) to make a deliberate decision to broadcast and promote this travesty was beyond cruel. This was no joke betweens mates this was a calculated abuse of circumstance. The "prank of the century" was broadcast for corporate and personal publicity/gain.
To anyone with half a brain cell it would have been apparent the only victims in these circumstances will have been the hospital staff. Stop and think normally for 30 seconds and you would not do it. It is grotesque.
To argue, as the station does "how were the broadcasters to know the possible consequences" and "there was no malice" is feebly weak. If that were the case why not approach and seek agreement with the parties involved. It is precisely because you do not know the consequences most normal people would simply not do it. It is called common sense.
I sincerely hope the events of recent days do not prove to have been the catalyst for this lady to take her own life but for those who seem to have so much difficulty in understanding her actions let me offer the following:
No matter the support of employers & colleagues she may have felt compelled as a matter of honour (such people do exist) to resign. That in itself can be a subject of huge distress especially if she enjoyed/ needed the job and were appreciated.
People live in Bristol and work in London for a reason.
With this incident now added to her CV she would fear she had damaged her prospects of future employment with the consequent financial impact on her family. Many who have witnessed people losing their jobs to the financial detriment of their loved ones, will know the sense of failure, distress and despair that may ensue.
As the Australian radio station now asks for understanding for their presenters, because "they are human after all", one can but feel had they displayed the same understanding two children would not have to face the trauma of coming to terms with the loss of their mother possibly due the circumstances arising from a "prank".
RIP.
Grapevine49
Excellent post