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Royal Hospital Nurse Hoax victim takes her own life


Frederick
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To be honest, and I've had to go and search out a transcript online, because I didn't believe I'd heard it right, I was dumbfounded to hear the female DJ saying that she really felt for the nurse's family and that she hoped (quote) "the public are being respectful of their privacy".

Now, I know she's probably in no fit state to see the deep, deep irony in that, but.....

And,in answer to all the "should have, could have, ought to have (or add any modal verb of your choice)" comments,  to quote that well-known philosopher and social commentator, Beverly Knight: "Shoulda, woulda, coulda are the last words of a fool"

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I see the compassion is still pouring out on this thread !

The young radio presenters made a stupid, stupid mistake and grave error of judgement - something that will no doubt haunt them for the rest of their lives.

I can barely imagine what that must be like for them - a living hell. Maybe one or two others on this forum might just try, for a split second to imagine that.

Essentially they will deal out their own 'punishement'.

Above all, my heart goes out to the family and friends of Jacintha Saldanha - dealing with her suicide and the reasons for it will be unimaginably hard for them - also for the rest of their lives.

No winners, just losers.

Chiefluvvie
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[quote user="Chiefluvvie"]I see the compassion is still pouring out on this thread ! The young radio presenters made a stupid, stupid mistake and grave error of judgement - something that will no doubt haunt them for the rest of their lives. I can barely imagine what that must be like for them - a living hell. Maybe one or two others on this forum might just try, for a split second to imagine that. Essentially they will deal out their own 'punishement'. Above all, my heart goes out to the family and friends of Jacintha Saldanha - dealing with her suicide and the reasons for it will be unimaginably hard for them - also for the rest of their lives. No winners, just losers. Chiefluvvie[/quote]

Why should we stop and think of these despicable people when quite clearly the compassion in this forum is for the victim. Seems to me you would let all the murderers out of jail because they have to live with what they have done for the rest of their lives!

These idiots did it as an extremely childish prank with no thought whatsoever for as to what might happen. If you don't know the consequences then don't do it, it really is that simple and most adults know this.

They might have to live their lives with this on their conscience but what about the family of the nurse? Her husband will get reminded every day of his life when he wakes up and finds nobody there. Her daughter will not have her mother in her life anymore. She will hopefully live longer than these two sh*ts so her pain is not only more intense but will last longer.

Seems to me your the lone voice in the wilderness.

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The pair of Pratt's that played this stupid "prank", have now probably made it virtually impossible for anybody to phone a hospital ward and enquire about the health or well being of a friend or colleague who has the misfortune to be hospitalised suddenly. As for the compassion issue? I think that while the "prank" possibly tipped the balance, there must have been wider issues involved in the nurses life. The two idiots from the radio station, well they will have to live with their actions and it's possible they will never know if they are the sole cause of someones death. So they got more than their 15 minutes of fame lets hope they enjoy it?

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[quote user="Quillan"]

[quote user="Chiefluvvie"]I see the compassion is still pouring out on this thread ! The young radio presenters made a stupid, stupid mistake and grave error of judgement - something that will no doubt haunt them for the rest of their lives. I can barely imagine what that must be like for them - a living hell. Maybe one or two others on this forum might just try, for a split second to imagine that. Essentially they will deal out their own 'punishement'. Above all, my heart goes out to the family and friends of Jacintha Saldanha - dealing with her suicide and the reasons for it will be unimaginably hard for them - also for the rest of their lives. No winners, just losers. Chiefluvvie[/quote]

Why should we stop and think of these despicable people when quite clearly the compassion in this forum is for the victim. Seems to me you would let all the murderers out of jail because they have to live with what they have done for the rest of their lives!

These idiots did it as an extremely childish prank with no thought whatsoever for as to what might happen. If you don't know the consequences then don't do it, it really is that simple and most adults know this.

They might have to live their lives with this on their conscience but what about the family of the nurse? Her husband will get reminded every day of his life when he wakes up and finds nobody there. Her daughter will not have her mother in her life anymore. She will hopefully live longer than these two sh*ts so her pain is not only more intense but will last longer.

Seems to me your the lone voice in the wilderness.

[/quote]It seems to me that topics such as this on internet forums bring out the self-righteous in all of us. Having just heard one the hoaxers on local radio it seems clear that they never thought they would get away with it. After all no hospital should give out information about a patient to anyone over the phone without clearly establishing that the caller is entitled to be given that information by use of a password or similar safeguards.

Comparing this hoax with that made by Brand and Ross,  it is quite clear this was not as nasty  and offensive as the Brand/Ross call.

This was a silly, thoughtless, childish prank but it was not an evil one. They did not nor could not have foreseen the tragic consequences.  Today Jacintha Saldanha's sister in law said how shocked she was by this because JS was a strong woman, a devoted wife and mother and the last person you would think would commit suicide.

If, heaven forbid, history repeats itself and one of the hoaxers commits suicide will those on this forum who have been so critical of them feel any rermorse because IMO if that happens they and many others will have blood on their hands and be just as guilty as the hoaxers.

 

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I note that newscasts on BBC radio are at last calling a hoax - a hoax. I can't see it as a prank - that's something that children do; it was a nasty hoax.

I caught part of an interview with the two who perpetrated the hoax; they both kept saying how sorry they were for the family. Far better to have stayed quiet than take part in an interview in my mind. I would be sorry if either of the two 'did something (else) silly', as the saying goes - i.e. took an overdose or something, but I really don't feel for them at all at the moment. I've read that the female was in a fragile state even before they made the broadcast, yet didn't stop to think how somebody else might feel.

What I do hope will come out of this terrible tragedy is that it will make any other foolish person who finds perpetrating hoaxes amusing think twice before going ahead.

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As someone has already said, internet forums do have the tendency to bring out the self-righteous in all of us. They are also a medium through which people express concise opinions about one or more aspects of an issue under discussion (well, on here that tends to happen, anyway. Other forums may be different[;-)]).

I think that to assume, as a reader, a complete insight into the motives, feelings or sympathies of anyone writing on here is to make an ass out of...etc.

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"After all no hospital should give out information about a patient to anyone over the phone without clearly establishing that the caller is entitled to be given that information by use of a password or similar safeguards."

If the person calling is the Queen no doubt you might find it hard to establish that it is the Queen.

No doubt the nurse was in awe that she was talking to the 'Queen' and would have just wanted to deal with her as quickly as possible.

Fire officers will tell you that you do not know how a person will deal with a situation until they are in it. How many on this forum have had the Queen call them and how have you reacted whether you are a republican or not.

This seems to be the same as is said to little children 'one of you is going to get hurt sooner or later'.

Perhaps there could be more compassion for the presenters if it were not for what the radio management permit - do carry out a couple of internet searches. So they are perhaps victims of what the station wanted.

The presenters have done themselves no favours by the way they have spread what they have done around the world. No doubt they thought they were going to become mega stars.

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I found myself wondering whether the "support and counselling" the two nurses were said to be receiving wasn't a euphemism for something a good deal less friendly - perhaps something like the "words of advice" that policemen are occasionally reported as getting from their superiors.

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So it appears the radio station did attempt to obtain permission, but as the "victim" of the prank call is outside the Autralian territory, permission may not be necessary before broadcasting the call.

I have watched bits of the DJs' interview and I can see and hear they're emotional and upset, but at the risk of coming across as cold-hearted, I cannot even feel sorry for them.

I know they'll have to live with the knowledge of their involvement in that poor woman's demise.

I have also heard the radio station manager's phone interview, where he clearly avoids answering when asked if permission was obtained...

Just like a driver who's below the limit when he hits someone on a pedestrian crossing, there was no intent of causing harm, but the thoughtless train of actions which led to the hurt could have been so easily avoided.

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[quote user="gardengirl "]I note that newscasts on BBC radio are at last calling a hoax - a hoax. I can't see it as a prank - that's something that children do; it was a nasty hoax.

I caught part of an interview with the two who perpetrated the hoax; they both kept saying how sorry they were for the family. Far better to have stayed quiet than take part in an interview in my mind. I would be sorry if either of the two 'did something (else) silly', as the saying goes - i.e. took an overdose or something, but I really don't feel for them at all at the moment. I've read that the female was in a fragile state even before they made the broadcast, yet didn't stop to think how somebody else might feel.

What I do hope will come out of this terrible tragedy is that it will make any other foolish person who finds perpetrating hoaxes amusing think twice before going ahead.

[/quote]

I was going to respond but you have done it for me, I don't think anyone would 'gloat' if either or both took their own lives.

Personally I would like to see these two and the station manager prosecuted for manslaughter and let a jury decide.

As somebody has also touched on there are even further repercussions. Imagine if you were a nurse and somebody phoned up asking to speak to a patient, famous or not, without some form of password as mentioned. If it were me now I would simply say "Yeah right" and put the phone down on them. Problem is it could be genuine, the patient might die shortly afterwards or whatever, you just don't know.

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[quote user="Quillan"]

I was going to respond but you have done it for me, I don't think anyone would 'gloat' if either or both took their own lives.

Personally I would like to see these two and the station manager prosecuted for manslaughter and let a jury decide.

As somebody has also touched on there are even further repercussions. Imagine if you were a nurse and somebody phoned up asking to speak to a patient, famous or not, without some form of password as mentioned. If it were me now I would simply say "Yeah right" and put the phone down on them. Problem is it could be genuine, the patient might die shortly afterwards or whatever, you just don't know.

[/quote]It is not a question of gloating if either or both took their own lives or of feeling sorry - it is a question of how much personal responsibility you would take for driving them to it. It is funnily enough a similar thing from a moral viewpoint. Actions even posting on a forum can have unexpected and unforeseen consequences.

As for trying them for manslaughter I think it would be impossible now to find an unbiased jury here in the UK after all the outpourings in the press and on the internet. Has no-one learned anything from what happened after Hillsborough when the Sun in particular spread a lot of misinformation which certainly helped the police coverup.

Can't we all accept that sh*t happens sometimes and just because a tradegy occurs we don't have to hang, draw and quarter someone who didn't intend the consequences

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I think that the DJs probably thought of this as a ‘let’s make fun of the stuffy British/the royal family’ or something of that sort.

They overlooked the fact that they were ringing at 5.30 in the morning when there would not be a trained receptionist on the desk. They also completely failed to notice that the person they were speaking to had an accent that indicated that English was not her first language.

They were not to know the circumstances of this ordinary private member of the public’s life. I think it is silly to suggest that the nurse was suicidal anyway. Suppose the notoriety that came from this spoiled her plans for the future ?

It seems to me to be on par with all the stuff of Leveson where people’s lives are open to scrutiny in a way that they shouldn’t be. It is high time that the all of the media had more respect for people’s private lives.

As I said before I would not like the mistakes I made at work plastered over the newspapers and the web and I can even find it in my heart to feel a bit sorry for the DJs but in a way they asked for it as part of their job. Jacintha Saldanha had no choice.

Hoddy
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Unfortunately, because the desire for fame and notoriety seems to be almost global now, and there seems to be no lower limit on how far someone may have to stoop to achieve them, it's doubtful that the culture of being "famous for being a complete t**" has even felt the impact of this. Desperation for recognition will continue to mean that people will push the envelope, looking for quick, cheap ways of self-promotion and having a laugh at someone else's expense. The fact that, in this case, it was at the expense of a person's life, will matter only for as long as this incident is in the public consciousness. The two DJ's certainly epitomise the adage "be careful what you wish for..."

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I read the Australian media they are now with some desperation I think trying to shift the blame to the hospital for not having spotted it was a prank and  shutting off the call... As for the Radio station boss saying they called the hospital 5 times to get the nurses permission to broadcast the call ... I don't believe a word of that. I doubt if they even knew the names of the nurses they spoke to  The incoming calls will be recorded if he got through and his telephone service provider bill  will show  when he called  I would like to see him provide proof of the calls .  Hospitals have enough to do trying to make people well without having to worry about  idiots running radio stations tryiing to trip them up over patient confidentiality .   From my experience of and contact with Australians I have found the young ones seem to  take a long time to grow up .. Even ones I have met who are in their 30's act more like 12 year old's  these two radio presenters included and they should never have been allowed on air .

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I watched the interview, which I suspect was not all of it, on the BBC News and One, my observations were as follows. The female DJ seemed very distresses, crying etc and was saying how sorry she was. The male DJ said he was distressed and sorry but not a convincing as the woman.

I thought one question asked by the interviewer interesting which was something along the lines of "do you get training for doing this sort of thing"? This was aimed at the legality of doing these sort of 'pranks' and interviews. I got the impression from the woman interviewing them that people such as her did get some form of legal training as to what is acceptable and what is not. The couple, who by this time were showing no signs of crying etc said that they didn't, they did the 'pranks' and interviews then it was up to the station to air them or not, it wasn't their decision. I got two feelings from this, firstly the editing of the interview had been done with things out of sequence for a particular reason, sympathy or something else and secondly the two DJs were looking to pass the buck, in this case to the shows producer or the station manager.

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At the risk of invoking some further incredulity or hostile reaction, there is a complete transcript of the interview on the Guardian website, here:

[url]http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/10/royal-hoax-djs-interview-transcript[/url]

Clare Brady's antepenultimate question to Mel Greig interested me.

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[quote user="Quillan"]

I watched the interview, which I suspect was not all of it, on the BBC News and One, my observations were as follows. The female DJ seemed very distresses, crying etc and was saying how sorry she was. The male DJ said he was distressed and sorry but not a convincing as the woman.

[/quote]

I always remember Norman Wisdom on a TV programme telling this oh so sorry tale with great emotion in his voice and facial expressions and the audience were welling up. He suddenly stopped, laughed and said 'look at their faces'.

You can also see other actors turning on the emotions for the camera - not saying the DJs were putting on an act but I will agree with Q he was not convincing and I felt she was putting on an act, both going for the sympathy vote.

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[quote user="PaulT"][quote user="Quillan"]

I watched the interview, which I suspect was not all of it, on the BBC News and One, my observations were as follows. The female DJ seemed very distresses, crying etc and was saying how sorry she was. The male DJ said he was distressed and sorry but not a convincing as the woman.

[/quote]

I always remember Norman Wisdom on a TV programme telling this oh so sorry tale with great emotion in his voice and facial expressions and the audience were welling up. He suddenly stopped, laughed and said 'look at their faces'.

You can also see other actors turning on the emotions for the camera - not saying the DJs were putting on an act but I will agree with Q he was not convincing and I felt she was putting on an act, both going for the sympathy vote.

[/quote]

It will be interesting to see if they are required to attend an inquest in London if they show up .

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[quote user="You can call me Betty"]At the risk of invoking some further incredulity or hostile reaction, there is a complete transcript of the interview on the Guardian website, here:
[url]http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/10/royal-hoax-djs-interview-transcript[/url]

Clare Brady's antepenultimate question to Mel Greig interested me.
[/quote]

This is all getting a bizarre. When I start up my browser it goes to MSN and on there is a full, unedited interview with this couple and I started to watch it before I came to thank you for finding the transcript. Anyway the interview I saw on MSN seemed different to the one I saw on the BBC news. The 'channel tag', the bit in the corner that gives the name of the TV station, was not the same so before I came to read the transcript you gave a link to, which incidentally is of the one I saw on the BBC news, I went to the BBC news website to have a look at their interview. Well surprise surprise, it seems they have given at least two TV interviews. The interviewers, whilst both are women, are not the same, the background colour is not the same and the channel tag is not the same. Just to prove the point I have given the links to both below. Interestingly on the MSN website the comment says "Watch a full and unedited interview with 'heartbroken' DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian", notice how they have highlighted the word heartbroken, is that giving an opinion?

http://news.uk.msn.com/video-clips/?VideoID=2t7ibgcp 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20662352

So there are it seems two interviews, are there anymore I wonder?

 

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http://uk.news.yahoo.com/royal-prank-djs-just-want-sorry-070922921.html

Reading this link to Yahoo News it appears that they didn't restrict themselves to one station but certainly appeared on more than one show.

What's happened to the old fashioned way of putting out a carefully worded statement and leave it at that. I cannot begin to imagine what the tragic woman's family are going through knowing that this pair are parading on T V shows trying to express regret but also trying to shirk any responsibility for the tragic outcome.

The start of a careful campaign to rehabilitate themselves back into their jobs at some time in the future? If they're that sorry why not just resign?

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