The JOKE killed someone..
 

Kate and William 'deeply saddened' to hear 'excellent' nurse who put through Australian DJs' hoax call has been found dead in suspected suicideJacintha Saldanha found unconscious today near King Edward VII Hospital
Mother-of-two transferred prank call from Australian DJs asking about Kate
Australian presenters then got intimate details from Duchess's private nurse

William and Kate 'deeply saddened' by death and say they did not complain

Hospital described her as 'excellent nurse who cared diligently for hundreds'

MailOnline understands they were not disciplining her over incident
Woman's husband, two children and family have been informed of her death
2Day FM presenters Mel Greig and Michael Christian boasted about prank
By Arthur Martin and Martin Robinson
PUBLISHED: 14:20 GMT, 7 December 2012 | UPDATED: 16:33 GMT, 7 December 2012


A nurse who transferred a prank phone call from two Australian radio presenters about the Duchess of Cambridge has died in a suspected suicide – two days after being duped.
The body of Jacintha Saldanha, who was working on the switchboard, was found at an address yards away from King Edward VII Hospital, where she worked, just before 9.30am today.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge issued a statement saying they are 'deeply saddened' by the tragedy and said they had not made a complaint, adding: 'Their thoughts and prayers are with Jacintha Saldanha’s family, friends and colleagues at this very sad time.'

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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-Kate-Middleto
www.dailymail.co.uk

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I was just reading about that, how horrible. I wonder if it had anything to do with being hounded by the British tabloid press after the event? A couple of days ago they were slagging her off for falling for such a stupid prank and saying how horrified the royals were. Slight whiff of hypocrisy?

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What a shame this happened. The poor girl must have been terrified she was going to lose her job .. I hope those two who thought this prank was funny are feeling thoroughly ashamed of themselves and I hope the guilt lives with them for a long long time.

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will this stop prank/crank calls ? ?

methinks not, it is part of our current society and the people want to be informed as to what is happening.

not that I agree with it, but thats how it is in todays world of instant communication.

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The poor poor woman - condolences to her family - and shame on the two knob heads who put her in this position - i hope they are severely reprimanded for what they have done :( xxxxx

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So tragic. Thoughts going to her family, friends and colleagues.

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So do I, terrible end to a silly and needles prank. I hope this dwells on their minds the same as it did for this poor woman

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In fairness I doubt anyone including the press or the Royal couple would have expected anything like this, but agree the actions off the press will have increased the pressure on the poor woman.

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Yes, I thought after reading about the tragedy that she may have already been in a poor state of mind to react as she did.

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Don't you think the hospital has to take some responsibility...they have been dealing with royalty since 1890's surely they should have had contingency plans and instructed staff:huh:

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I see the two people responsible for the call have been withdrawn from their jobs, wether permanently or not I do not know.
I wonder how the law stands on this ?

If someone falsely misrepresents themselves on a persons doorstep or by telephone with the purpose of gaining benefit, I think they could technically be charged with fraud, though correct me if I'm wrong.
Likewise if they were knowingly putting someones health or life at risk by so doing, I would have thought.

In this case the perpetrators would surely at least expect to make some gain from their successful hoax,...... though could hardly foresee the resultant tragic event.

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Australian radio station boss refuses to sack Royal prank DJs and claims THEY are the victims as family tell of their grief after mother-of-two nurse who transferred hoax call to Kate's ward 'kills herself'
Jacintha Saldanha found unconscious today near King Edward VII Hospital
Mother-of-two transferred prank call from Australian DJs asking about Kate
Presenters behind the hoax are taken off air following tragedy

William and Kate 'deeply saddened' by death and say they did not complain

Australian PM Julia Gillard has described the death as 'a terrible tragedy'
Hospital described her as 'excellent nurse who cared diligently for hundreds'
Mel Greig and Michael Christian boasted about prank as tragedy unfolded

Both deleted their Twitter accounts after global backlash following death
Radio station's Facebook account bombarded with abusive comments


The boss of the radio company at the centre of the royal hoax call today refused to sack the DJs behind the stunt and painted them as victims.

2DayFM presenters Mel Greig and Michael Christian were taken off air after it emerged the nurse who took their prank call at Kate Middleton's hospital had died in a suspected suicide.
Jacintha Saldanha, a 46-year-old mother of two, had been manning the hospital switchboard when the Australian hoaxers called and she transferred the call to the Duchess of Cambridge's ward.

Rhys Holleran, the chief executive of Southern Cross Austereo, which owns the station, said the presenters were 'completely shattered' and had been offered counselling.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz2ERxo4sPI

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Whatever the rights and wrongs it looks like the radio station is in big trouble now the main sponsers have pulled the plug on them.

They've had complaints before but wether they'll survive this particular crisis seems unlikely.

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Sorry but I have no sympathy for them or the radio station whatsoever - I don't buy newspapers or watch the news as its usually all doom n gloom plus it breeds parasites like the above two people - why are people so interested in how many poos anyone else has - for gods sake get a life - if people didn't have to know the ins n outs of a monkeys arsehole that poor woman would still be alive and two children would still have their mother :-( - rant over xxxxx

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I agree.
The medias obsession with anyone who they consider commands celeb status is very sad.
Likewise there must be a lot of very sad people out there with little or no lives of there own, lapping it all up.

What sickens me most is the difficulty of trying to avoid such crap these days as more and more it takes priority, especially in newsrag headlines and front pages as well as other media fields, over what could be far more informative, interesting and useful news.

If WW3 was expected to start tomorrow, it would likely be considered of very little interest compared to the latest Cheryl Cole gossip or the next Royal arrival.

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Cheryl who?:rofl::rofl::rofl:

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Interesting how the reaction in this thread is different to the one in the Australia forum. There it is 100% the fault of the DJs and no one else is to blame at all, whereas here people are prepared to be more objective and blame the press as well as the DJs which I think is more intelligent response. The pressure on that woman when the Daily Mail was writing this sort of stuff must have been tremendous:

"But the Mail understands that William and Kate’s private staff are furious and have expressed ‘deep concern’ that the Duchess’s privacy could be compromised in this way. What worries them most, apparently, is just how easy it was for the DJs to get away with their prank."

Imagine reading that and interpreting it as a criticism of how you handled the call.

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Interesting..... are you trying to shift the the blame for this from two publicity seeking leeches to the cesspool that british press has become?

Bottom line is these two "DJ'S" didn't stop to think about the consequences of their actions, didn't take into account what the press jackals would make of it.

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I don't absolve the DJs of their responsibility for this at all, but I don't think they could reasonably have predicted the insane reaction of the British right-wing press in response to the prank, and it was that reaction that blew this thing sky high and put a lot of pressure on the nurse. All those bastards care about is selling newspapers and they didn't give a thought to how that woman would have felt having her actions questioned so publicly.

I have also read that William Windsor was "livid" when he found out, but did not specify that this rage was aimed at the DJs. Given his attempt to shut down a magazine and turf dozens of people out of their jobs a few weeks ago, I can imagine the reaction of the nurse when she found he was on the war path. I think a lot of people played a part in this not just two dickhead DJs.

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Absolutely. They don't bother with trained switchboard operators at night (the call took place at 5.30am) they just expect the nurses to do it.

Sunday Times now reporting that there are fears for the ozzie woman who took part in the prank 'as she may harm herself'

All in all a pretty sad state of affairs.

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So, how do prank calls keep the people informed, they're just trying to have a laugh at someonelse's expense. The official media was doing a great job keeping the people informed as to what was happening via official press releases.

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Do not get me wrong I have every sympathy with this poor woman and her family it is a terrible outcome to a prank set up by 2 idiots that saw no further than their own status and gaining cudos as radio presenters, forgetting the fact that they were no doubt risking someone else loosing their job. As has been said the hospital has some responsibility for not paying for a trained receptionist through the "quiet hours".

I do not think though that either William or Kate should be criticised for being angry/furious that these idiot pranksters managed to speak with someone about her condition. Lets face it if it was any of our wives and someone without authority or need managed to gain any information and then broadcast it any way I am sure everyone of us would be furious.

The poor woman was a nurse caught out towards the end of her shift dealing with something she was not used to dealing with. The shame is with the 2 presenters and their radio station who authorised the broadcasting of this drivel. No blame should be put on the Royals in my view this tragic incident as blighted what should be on of the happiest times in their lives.

I understand per the press that the radio station is now saying that they are concerned for the safety of the female presenter as she may self harm? Well 2 things maybe her and her colleague should have thought a little more about the consequences of their actions before humiliating someone in such a way. secondly god forbid another person should loose their live over this prank and how true these concerns are I do not know, however she may now understand a little how the poor nurse was feeling when she took her life. The whole thing is just so very tragic.

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British DJs have often done prank calls in the past, they can be very funny and entertaining. Nobody could have predicted the tragic consequences of this current one.

Noel Edmonds - Haggis shooting prank call

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+1, and let's not forget the Russell Brand Show which specialised in puerile prank calls such as the Andrew Sachs thing etc. A lot of Australians are getting irked by being given ethics lectures from the British gutter press right now.

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:blink: How odd...

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What don't you understand?

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Yes there have been a number of different shows showing prank calls some of which can be amusing. Most of those though to my knowledge admit the fact prior to ending and tended to be on an unrealistic theme (not all). I also agree and have said no one would have expected the tragic outcome? However given that this prank involved the Royal family and a real health matter what could have been foreseen was the serious probable consequences (career wise), for unwitting staff that were duped!

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I never suggested they keep people informed Mike.
There is enough news out there if people actually got off their areses and looked for it - probably more noteworthy.

but, no, its fine to have a joke at someone else's expense, they should have learnt from the Brand/Woss incident that jokes at other people's expense can bounce back on you. You can plan and plan and plan and never see the consequences of your actions, one person dead, one person on suicide watch, probably 2 (or more) people out of media jobs for life, station had all its advertising pulled overnight (IIRC), long term loss of credibility mean the station could be dead itself by Christmas.

This is the sort of thing that will end up in a number of training courses and be the term test for Media Studies undergrads for decades to come.

but its alright to have a joke at someone else's expense.
:thumbdown:

`

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While I'm really sorry that a stupid prank cost the life of someone I do find it strange that nobody has commented on the fact that a nurse in a major hospital was sufficiently of a disturbed mind to kill herself over such a thing.

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You just have. However, not a single one of us can put ourselves in that woman's mind, we don't know her values, her up bringing, her exact culture, we don't know if she loved royalty, adored Dianna/the Queen/William, or whatever.

While killing herself may be seen as mental health issues to one person, it doesn't mean that it was an on-going problem. Maybe that in this instance, she was perfectly stable beforehand, and this took her to a wretched place that she saw no escape from.

As an aside, many people do a great job in their workplace with mental health issues and/or depression. It does not stop them from doing a great job and doesn't preclude them from being a nurse.

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Very true but I fear that is what the OP wanted a reaction. Who can say what that poor woman went through, it may have been a tipping point we will never know. What we do know is it was cruel and should never have happened.

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Yup.

Funnily enough, since writing my response to the post above, I've realized I screwed something up for one of my clients. Nothing confidential but I'm devastated. I'm so angry with myself, I'm replaying how it could of possibly happened, I've apologized and said I'll call the clients to personally to apologize. I've thought about resigning, my stomach is churning, I've just shouted at my husband, I'm embarrassed.

The reason I'm beating myself up is because I care, not because I'm mentally incapable of doing my job, and it's at most 120 holiday letters.


If i can do this to myself over something that is relatively inconsequential, no-one can possibly put themselves in the position of a poor nurse who transferred the call to the department and got world wide press coverage and humiliated around the world.

Poor woman, poor family.....

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I know people from India and they are very proud people and i believe they would kill themselves if shamed like this nurse was.

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Well lets hope the silly cow has learnt her lesson from this and actually uses one of her two brain cells and thinks before she tries to prank someone again and let's hope the other one has learned a lesson or two too - very sad either way xxx

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One can only imagine the bollocking she got from the senior management when Wills found out about this. I expect she was terrified. It makes more sense than killing yourself over an inane prank. One thing I find odd is that the hospital has accused the DJs of being responsible for her death before even a post-mortem has been done. I'm sure this must be defamation of character in some way. Very unprofessional and I'm surprised they had the nerve to do it actually.

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I don't understand why the British gutter press are giving ethics lectures to a lot of Australians.

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Perhaps they see attack as the best form of defence. They are saying they hadn't disciplined her, had been very supportive and someone was 'planning to have a word with her at some stage'. I find that appalling in itself. When something like this happens the employee should be spoken to immediately - not be given 'a bollocking' but to be given a chance to say what happened from their side as part of a proper investigation of what happened and why. She should have had the possible consequences explained to her and since they are saying they didn't blame her they could at least have offered some reassurance that she was not going to be in very serious trouble or lose her job. Instead it seems she was left to worry by herself and away from her family.
It is difficult to imagine how that might lead to suicide but like Trixie I can understand how someone who really cares might get to that position. A few years ago I was working as maternity leave cover for a Dr's receptionist. Another of the receptionists got pregnant and I happened to mention to the Practice Manager that I had discussed this with my husband and that if she wanted me to, would stay on longer to cover the 2nd pregnancy as well. She didn't say anything at the time but a few days later I was hauled in front of one of the Drs and questioned as to why I had discussed confidential patient information with my husband. It was one of the most mortifying experiences of my life and upset me terribly. I was twice the age of the nurse with a supportive husband and I didn't need the job but I was severely shaken. If my mistake had been broadcast over the internet and been the subject of discussion worldwide, I think I would have wanted to crawl into a hole and die as well.

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Unbelievable. Some perspective was needed here because you have a right to discuss your job with your husband. They don't mind storing innocent people's DNA on record for ever but God forbid someone might mention to their husband that a colleague is pregnant. What a joke.

I agree as well with your point about the internet/embarrassment, etc.

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No doubt this is a tragedy. It just is... Period. There is simply no arguing that point.

But the investigation isn't over yet, and it's much too easy to just blame a few pranksters who were only conducting a stupid prank, which, in this case, if the tragic events that followed hadn't taken place, many of us would have found to be just another amusing embarrassment for the hospital or the Royals... I don't think anyone could have predicted this outcome.

Certainly you can argue this prank was unnecessary, but at this point, I have to suspect that this woman had other problems which contributed in a major way to this tragedy. I for one, find it terribly hard to believe that someone in a stable mental condition would be inclined to take their own life over this stupid incident without significant other factors being involved.

Yet, here we are en masse - quickly laying blame for a tragedy that virtually nobody would ever have guessed could be the result of a stupid prank (just read the foregone conclusion in the title of this thread).

But we like blame. We have been raised to believe everything is someone else's fault (or that someone is at fault for everything). It's conveniently become a basic expectation of our culture. We rarely take the time to think rationally about those things which we find deplorable, nor realise that WE are often the very cause of what we object to.

It is a tragedy. For everyone involved. But who is really at fault here? Or is this just another of life's tragedies that we can't honestly blame on anyone?