CAMPYLOBACTER: Anyone else had it?

[Chucky Mama]

Just heard that hospital nurse who took hoax call 'found dead in suspected suicide'

[Old Speckled Hen]

Just read that the poor nurse who took the spoof phone call at the hospital has committed suicide. I am speechless. It's so sad.....just dreadful amidst all the joy.

[The Dogmother]

Oh god, how dreadful... Kate and William must be so upset about that.

 

I hope those Aussie DJs feel terrible about it.

[Looney]

Terrible news, so so sad. Just shows how a 'harmless' prank really impacts on people. I feel so sorry for her family and I can't imagine how she must have been feeling to decide to commit suicide

[Egluntyne]

How utterly tragic. A simple mistake was made, and those higher up the chain of command should have had proper procedures in place, especially as this is not the first time that this hospital has had members of the royal family as patients. Heads should roll, chief among them being the pranksters.

[Luvachicken]

That is really sad to read about the poor nurse who took the call.

I hope those DJ's realise what they have done.

[Lavenders_Blue]

I have just heard this news too. Incredibly sad

[Cheeky Chooky]

Just watched the report on the 6 o'clock News...tragic

[snowberry]

What a dreadful turn of events.

[Alis girls]

I hope those DJ' s and hospital bosses are deeply ashamed - I am so angry I cant vent my wrath enough - nurses get so much stick these days - and no support. Poor Kate and William being the caring people they are will be deeply upset. A joke can be carried too far.

[counturchickens]

I hate pranks and practical jokes, they always make me feel awkward for the person. This takes this to a whole new level, and is really awful. I wonder how much press attention (hounding) she was getting.

[Willow]

This news really upset me, that poor woman and her poor poor children and husband. An indicator that press interest in W&K and new baby is out of control I think as I suspect she may have been under too much pressure from the media.

 

It was a horrible prank to play anyway. At best stupid and we've seen the worst.

 

Feel for William and Kate as well, they must be sad that has happened

[soapdragon]

Those stupid, thoughtless and crass 'DJs' will have to live with this for the rest of their lives; let that be their punishment for such reckless and pointless behaviour. I feel so sad for that poor nurse; how terrible for her family. There are no words to describe the stupid waste of a very valuable life.

 

I would even go as far as to say that these two should be charged with manslaughter.

[Griffin]

It was just a joke. If somebody is mentally ill and considering suicide, even something as inane as running out of tea bags can be just the thing to tip them over the edge. No disciplinary action was taken by the hospital, St James Palace say no complaint was made by them, "Ooops, word censored!"ody else is responsible for this nurses death but herself. Instead of mass hysteria in the media they could instead educate the general public on the VAST amount of people suffering mental illness and highlight ways to help and provide help for people feeling suicidal themselves. The lives & careers of those DJs shouldn't be ruined by misconception. It's easier to blame them than open our eyes to real suffering that goes on around us all daily.

[Looney]

I agree that it was supposed to be just a joke. And I think it was extremely unfortunate that this particular nurse answered the call as opposed to someone more able to take the pressure/embarrassment/stress etc resulting from being broadcast across the world and having every man and his dog passing judgement on whether she was right or wrong or stating what they would have done in the nurse's position. Although there was no official disciplinary procedures I think I would have felt devastated, like everyone was laughing at or criticising me...like my professional reputation was in serious question (by others if not my employers).

 

It shouldn't have been assumed the nurse could just take this on the chin and carry on. There may well have been a support system in place set up by her work that we don't know about. And I totally agree that this event may have been the final straw for someone with underlying issues. But ultimately the prank call started off a chain of events that led to such a sad ending. The DJs wanted a big hit story when they chose to broadcast the prank and they too now have to deal with the impact, an outcome which is very different to the one they were expecting. And it will be big news and people will want to read about it and find someone to blame and want someone to be punished. It was just a joke....shame no one is laughing. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

[Olly]

That's very well put, Griffin. This is a tragedy and I think this was a mean trick by the Australian DJs, but most people would not respond to something like this by taking their own life - sadly, this lady must have had some underlying anxieties or problems. The saddest thing is that I read that she was a mother of two children, she must have felt very desperate indeed to think that they would be better off without her.

 

If any good can come out of this, as you say it would be to raise awareness of mental health issues.

 

I can't say that I am interested in the royal baby, but this is a distressing start for any young couple at what should be a happy time.

[Chucky Mama]

This has been split from the Royal Baby thread so that people can continue to post on both topic separately

 

 

I agree Grifiin and I think that reaction to this tragedy is sadly typical. The nurse and her family have been lost in this now and it has become a 'gem' of a news item for the media. People really don't need to be posting offensive 'blood on your hands' style messages of FB and Twitter. No one has the facts, there has been no inquest or even confirmation of cause of death. What now if the radio presenters become so distressed at the turn of events that one of them... It was silly, unnecessary and thoughtless but it is also crazy that they drag out the nurse's old driving instructor to comment and that reporters are camped out reporting outside the hospital. The BBC etc did feel it necessary to repeatedly play the tape but are now quick to point the finger at someone else.

[patsylabrador]

I've read that the prank was pre-recorded to cover their backs. Presumably common sense and decency would have been enough to make them realise that this was going to hurt real people. They could have pulled it and saved shaming decent people. They kept playing it as well even though the nurse's death had been reported. I'm allowing for time differences, I hope they weren't that callous.

[Janepie33]

Totally agree with Griffin. We don't know what else was going on in that poor lady's life. I did read today that she was being fully supported by the hospital, with no disciplinary issues going ahead. She had described herself as 'a very nervous person' in the past and had been living at the nurses home for quite a few months.

 

As for the DJ's, sounds like they had made several of these prank calls in the past with no fall out and this one was just a tragic chain of events that resulted in the poor nurse taking her own life. I think their own guilt of ultimately causing another's death is punishment enough.

[Alis girls]

Unless something was left out in the report then she hadnt breeched confidentiality - any of us have phoned wards and asked over loved ones and been told "they had a good night". The press are too busy slagging off nurses - another report in the Daily wail about someone whose loved one had died. We only ever have one side of the story dont we. These DJ's will have to live with this for the rest of their lives. This poor lady might have had mental health issues - sad she couldnt ask for help. RIP.

[Chickendoodle]

How tragic for the nurse and her family. Not knowing her personal circumstances I don't think we can second guess what her mental state was in previous to the call.

 

I do accept that prank calls are made and sometimes they can be funny - no different really to candid camera which was on tv years ago. I do not accept however that it is ok to make a prank call to discover details about a medical condition, particularly at a delicate time in a pregnancy. They would have not (hopefully) have made such a a call impersonating the queen if a member of the royal family had cancer so why would they - and by they I mean the radio station as a whole- think that it was funny to do this.

[Egluntyne]

I agree totally

 

However, I simply cannot understand why rigorous procedures were not in place to prevent exactly this type of thing, and to head idiots such as these two off at the pass.

[redhotchick]

I was sad to hear about the death of this nurse. I didn't realise that she had children, tragic.

I heard on the news earlier that the Australian DJs concerned are having counselling.

[patsylabrador]

I hate the way people sit back and laugh at the victims of so called pranks. I'd have felt so ashamed and stupid if I'd been that nurse. The radio station and DJs should feel bad, they're adults and didn't care about the consequences of making someone look bad. This has been a long time coming.

[Sarattie]

Very sad indeed.

 

Where I don't have a problem with prank calls, and by no means could this have solely been the cause of the poor woman to take her own life,

I do feel this particular prank was distasteful especially as Kate could have lost the baby and this could have been revealed inadvertently. I think some things should be private. Pranks are pranks, this was a breach of privacy.

Pranks are usually funny, I don't see how, even without the sad turn of events, how this can be seen as funny?