When a "prank" turns out horribly wrong
 

Breaking news from England, the nurse who was duped into giving information about Kate Cambridge has killed herself.

I just think that this is so sad!

Re: When a "prank" turns out horribly wrong
 

WHAT !

I haven't heard the phone call but whatever was said by her could not have been bad enough to take her own life :(

Real shame.

BBC link.

Re: When a "prank" turns out horribly wrong
 

apparently the poor girl passed the phone to a colleague, but she took the flack for it!
Her poor family!

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Re: When a "prank" turns out horribly wrong
 

There have been many pranks over the years that turned out tragic. The pranksters don't set out to cause anyone's, death but sometimes their actions and consequences do.
In this situation she was/became obviously mentally
unbalanced to do somehing as serious as taking her own life.
Sad and distressing indeed.

Re: When a "prank" turns out horribly wrong
 

Sad news indeed but how many of us have played pranks on co workers.
So do we now ban playing practical jokes in any form as we have no idea what the person on the receiving end of the prank may or may not do.
Perhaps as a punishment the UK should send all of its criminals to Australia.

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I find it strange that no one is commenting upon the inappropriate disclosure of personal information

Re: When a "prank" turns out horribly wrong
 

I had thought about that but knew a lawyer would be along shortly :p
We can discuss this in its simplest form.
Hi can I help you
Yes this is the Queen and Prince Charles calling
Could you please give me a number that I can call you back on as I cannot disclose this information at the moment click.
Now true hanging up on the real Queen might be a career limiting move but cant get into trouble for disclosing any information.

Re: When a "prank" turns out horribly wrong
 

I think the dead woman has commented eloquently on that topic.

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I could google but easier asking you :)

Was any 'real' personal information given or just all was fine etc ?

I don't want to move away from the sad news of someone taking their life for such a small thing - though I do agree she may have been unbalanced before the event.

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I have no idea what information was disclosed or whether she was the one to disclose it. From what has been stated, she simply connected the call to the appropriate ward.

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I had a google after all - nothing of any real personal nature IMO and she did in fact just put them through to the correct ward.

- - - - - - - - - -

(PHONE RINGS)

Receptionist: Hello, good morning, King Edward VII Hospital.

Greig : Oh hello there, could I please speak to Kate please, my granddaughter.

Receptionist: Oh yes, just hold on ma'am.

Greig: Thank you.

Nurse: Good morning, ma'am, this is the nurses station, how may I help you?

Greig: Hello, I'm just after my granddaughter Kate. I wanted to see how her little tummy bug is going.

Nurse: She's sleeping at the moment and has had an uneventful night, and sleep is good for her, as we speak. She's been given some fluids to re-hydrate her because she was quite dehydrated when she came in. But she's stable at the moment.

Greig: OK. Well, I'll just feed my little corgis then (barking in the background). So when is a good time to come and visit her? Because I'm the Queen so I'll need a lift down there. Charles! When can you take me to the hospital, Charles?

Christian (pretending to be Prince Charles): When will it be all right to come down and see her? Maybe in the morning or something? If that's OK?

Nurse: I would suggest that any time after nine o'clock would be suitable, because the doctor will be in in the morning and we'll just be getting her freshened up in the morning. I would think any time after nine.

Christian: Wonderful. Is Wills still there or has he gone home? I haven't spoken to him yet.

Nurse: He went home at about half past nine last night. Actually, probably about nine o' clock last night.

Christian: OK, Lovely. But they're all OK, everything's all right?

Nurse: Yes, she's quite stable at the moment. She hasn't had any retching with me since I've been on duty. And she has been sleeping on and off.

Christian: Wonderful.

Nurse: I think it's difficult sleeping in a strange bed as well.

Christian: Yes, of course, it's hardly the palace, is it!

Greig: It's nothing like the palace is it, Charles? Oh, when are you going to walk those bloody corgis?

Christian: Mumsy, I'll go and take the dogs outside.

Greig: I need to go and visit Kate in the morning. My dear, thank you so much.

Nurse: You're very welcome.

Greig: Thank you, bye.

Christian: Goodbye.

(Hangs up)

Re: When a "prank" turns out horribly wrong
 

Does it matter what info was given out be it all fine or she is sleeping at the moment or whatever was said it was disclosure of information.
Of course people will say well thats bollocks etc etc but Im glad this came up as you the public wanted this law.
See this is how it used to work as an example in Canada before the Privacy & Disclosure Acts came into being.
Canada Customs were contacted by Employment & Insurance Canada as they suspected that EI claimants were travelling to places on winter holidays and were still claiming EI while out of the country. Of course this was an abuse of the EI system as Joe Blow laying on a Jamaican beach was not available for work if he was offered a job. So when the EI dept found out about this they disqualified his claim and payment for the period he was outside of the country. Well Joe got pissed off at this and appealed this.
It was determined that this practice of Govt depts sharing info was a breach of privacy even though Joe and several thousand others were actually guilty of an offence so this practice stopped and several employees of these Depts were disciplined. So now you have a culture in the Feds that we refuse to disclose any info to a person not entitled to that info. So if you are waiting for your sister to arrive in Canada CBSA and the airline will not disclose if she was on the plane or has indeed arrived.
It was you the public that asked for this so dont blame people when you ask for info to be told Im sorry I cant disclose that information to you.

Re: When a "prank" turns out horribly wrong
 

I have no issues with being told - "I'm sorry I cannot disclose that information" and I'm not blaming anyone for anything.

I was intrigued if any 'real' (for want of a better word) personal information was given across - rightly or wrongly.

As it turns out the poor girl who did take her own life said a total of 13 words to the DJ's. Was she close to doing this before the event ? Who knows ?

Re: When a "prank" turns out horribly wrong
 

(in reply to FL)

.....unless you say you are the Queen first ;)

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Id still be asking for a call back number or passing the phone to a junior officer :lol:

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I would, I would also comment on the verbatim repetition of the call on this thread. That needs deleting. ASAP, there's no need to keep repeating it, such repetition probably played a part in the woman's torment.

Just guessing here, the nurse who killed herself put the call through to the floor nurses, and probably said that it was the Queen as she did so. The floor nurse would have then have no reason to doubt who was calling and would not be breaking any confidentiality issues provided the patient had already consented to information being given out to the Queen.

This puts the "blame" back on the nurse on reception. Though why the hospital did not have security manning the switchboard is a puzzle. Maybe they had gone for a pee??? The hospital needs better security that's obvious.

I think that the staff at this hospital also sign the Official Secrets Act in addition to professional and contractual obligations to confidentiality. I've no idea what this means in practice but it would make me more worried about the outcome

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". . . who was married with two children" :confused:

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Perhaps that inappropriately disclosed personal information was gathered by a large crowd of reporters and cameramen crowding around her house.

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I have no idea but it the whole thing seems insane.

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+1

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I just heard this on the news, that is awefull. The Ausies are in trouble now!

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They'll just chuck another on the barbie

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Death penalty could be enforced for them, for treason.

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I thought that had been done when the story originally broke. This is a new story.

I think it would be the other way around. The person answering the phone is completely taken by surprise. Has no time to think "hang on, surely an aide would be enquiring or at least saying put me through to...I have HM on the line..."

Then I'd expect the second one to say "you're 'avin' a larf" or some such and then they start questioning the reality.

The second one is the one hearing the silly stuff about corgis, and needing a lift "down there" and the other stuff.

Of course, one would expect there to be have been some protocol in place to avoid this.

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My thoughts exactly. Can you imagine the poor woman thinking in a split second "holy crap it's the queen, is it the queen???? what if it is and I don't put her through, I could get fired, this the THE QUEEN" of course there's people that would have composed themselves and tried to do some due dilligence - but if you are taken off guard - then it's understandable.

As for the dj's - ok so yes I've read the station has been in trouble for silly pranks (and some outright disgusting ones) in the past - but they can NOT have anticipated what would happen as a result of this.

All that being said, due to what's transpired, the only decent thing they can do is resign.

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Unfortunately the Blair Govt had to get rid of the Death Penalty for Treason in 1998 as a precursor for having a lovely tea party at the UK signing of the European Convention of Human Rights in 1999.:)

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Well this poor nurse has already has paid the treason penalty for leaking confidential information. I think the presenters might be next.

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IMO Not a word they would have been taught or know a great deal about in Australia

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I didn't mean any comparison between the two nurses. My comment was referring to the confidentiality part and not the being taken in by the callers.

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I think that horse left already.

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Where is the poster 'cjones' with his comment......"thanks for letting us know what is going on back home"?

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When I first heard about the phone call I searched it out and listened. It was much funnier reading about it than listening. I like pranks as much as anyone - maybe more - but I felt the presenters were very immature and I even felt a little insulted by their attitude before they made the call.

I'm sure they are feeling terrible and part of me is glad.

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I don't like pranks at all, they always involve humiliating someone, a joke at another person's expense. Where's the decency in that?

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You'll hate this then.

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yep, feel awkward watching these things.

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I feel that could have been a very dangerous prank, especially if one of the people involved had any sort of a heart problem.

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It depends on the prank and the individual. Plenty of people can laugh at themselves.

It wasn't a prank but Donna the Deer Lady must have felt a bit foolish after her radio phone-in complaint. Yet she went back on the radio after. :rofl:

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Yes and I laughed very hard at that one, but she took it in her stride and thats what most pertetrators of pranks expect the recipient to do. (though /i do realise that the deer cll wasn't a prank) I won't say victim because a prank is supposed to be lighthearted, and people rightly of wrongly assume the person that it's played on, can take it.

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That one was hillarious and made even better as it wasn't a prank. :rofl::rofl: