RE: Why such controversy over prank?
December 9, 2012 at 2:00 pm
(This post was last modified: December 9, 2012 at 2:06 pm by Tiberius.)
After having listened the the entire prank call, it's hard to justify all the hate for the DJs over this death. The DJ pretending to be the Queen asked the nurse if she could speak to "Kate". The nurse, clearly thinking that she was speaking to the actual Queen, did not question anything and immediately transferred the call.
After that, the DJs were speaking to an entirely different nurse, who relayed them the private and confidential information. This was not the nurse who killed herself; the nurse who transferred the call did that. In reality, the DJs did very little wrong; they were audibly surprised (whilst being transferred) that the prank had worked so well...they hadn't even mentioned who they were pretending to be at this point. The nurse on the other hand, had violated hospital policy concerning relatives of patients, and quite likely some security policies as well.
If you honestly believe that someone can commit suicide over something like this, you need to get your own head looked at. Yes, this event was probably the final thing that pushed her over the edge, but I suspect we'll find in the oncoming weeks that she had a history of depression and bouts of suicidal behaviour. If there is anyone who should be blamed here, it is the hospital for not making sure the nurses involved were properly counseled after the prank phone call was revealed. The statement from the hospital said that the nurses weren't going to be disciplined, but said nothing about whether they were being seen by therapists. In a somewhat ironic twist, the radio station of the two DJs involved announced after the prank call was aired that those involved were being counseled, due to the massive negative reaction to the prank.
It was a tragic turn of events, but in no way did the DJs anticipate this could happen, and quite honestly, neither did anyone else. Demanding the heads of the pranksters isn't going to bring the nurse back, nor will it stop pranks in the future from going wrong. What will is a good review of policy, and making sure that staff know not to make massive assumptions about who is on the other end of the phone. That, and making sure that when someone does screw up, they are properly looked after.
P.S. Germans, you don't seem to know what the word "verbose" means.
After that, the DJs were speaking to an entirely different nurse, who relayed them the private and confidential information. This was not the nurse who killed herself; the nurse who transferred the call did that. In reality, the DJs did very little wrong; they were audibly surprised (whilst being transferred) that the prank had worked so well...they hadn't even mentioned who they were pretending to be at this point. The nurse on the other hand, had violated hospital policy concerning relatives of patients, and quite likely some security policies as well.
If you honestly believe that someone can commit suicide over something like this, you need to get your own head looked at. Yes, this event was probably the final thing that pushed her over the edge, but I suspect we'll find in the oncoming weeks that she had a history of depression and bouts of suicidal behaviour. If there is anyone who should be blamed here, it is the hospital for not making sure the nurses involved were properly counseled after the prank phone call was revealed. The statement from the hospital said that the nurses weren't going to be disciplined, but said nothing about whether they were being seen by therapists. In a somewhat ironic twist, the radio station of the two DJs involved announced after the prank call was aired that those involved were being counseled, due to the massive negative reaction to the prank.
It was a tragic turn of events, but in no way did the DJs anticipate this could happen, and quite honestly, neither did anyone else. Demanding the heads of the pranksters isn't going to bring the nurse back, nor will it stop pranks in the future from going wrong. What will is a good review of policy, and making sure that staff know not to make massive assumptions about who is on the other end of the phone. That, and making sure that when someone does screw up, they are properly looked after.
P.S. Germans, you don't seem to know what the word "verbose" means.
(December 9, 2012 at 8:57 am)downbeatplumb Wrote: The DJs involved encouraged the nurse to break the Data Protection Act which can lead to a fine, imprisonment and or the sack.No they didn't. They never mentioned the act; ergo, there was no encouragement for the (second) nurse to break it. They asked for information, and the nurse broke the act by giving it to them. She should have denied them that information.
Quote:In the current climate government employers are looking for every opportunity to get shot of people without having to pay redundancy money.The hospital stated that they were not disciplining the nurses involved.
Quote:Personally I can understand what the woman did embarrassment on this scale can be almost painful.True, but to some extent it was brought upon herself. She screwed up; didn't ask any questions to verify their identities, and assumed she was talking to the Queen.
Quote:Even if some of you feel she needed to be "mentally unwell" or have other problems. I can see how this incident could have been enough all by itself to cause the death, especially as it is in the full glare of publicity which would have made things 1000 times worse.You clearly know nothing about depression and suicide if you think someone with a stable mind would commit suicide over this. The event was in the public eye, true, but the nurses themselves weren't. The nurse who committed suicide was only identified after she did so, and as far as I am aware, the nurse who actually gave away the information is still unknown.
