DUCHESS 'PHONE HOAX GETTING BORING.

The nonsense about the Duchess of Cambridge and a hoax telephone call really is taking up far too much space and time in our media.

 

Hearing repeats of the radio broadcast, it's pretty clear that the impression of the Queen was awful; I haven't heard that of Prince Charles, but I suspect it was just as bad. It was a silly prank that really shouldn't have worked and the only reason it hit the headlines initially was that hospital staff were so easily taken in by it. The tragic consequences have, of course, made the story even more newsworthy.

 

While the apparent suicide of the nurse who took the call is sad, her action was horribly out of proportion when considered in the light of what she actually seems to have done; as far as I understand it, all she did was to answer the telephone and pass the callers on to another member of the hospital's staff. That she felt sufficiently upset that she committed suicide suggests deeper problems in her life.

 

The second nurse who, according to the press, then happily discussed the condition of the Duchess in some detail was much more at fault. However, the major part of the blame for the success of the hoax rests fairly and squarely with the hospital management who had obviously failed to ensure that there were adequate procedures in place to safeguard the confidentiality of their patients. Most hospitals have such procedures that make it almost impossible to gain any information about hospital patients regardless of the identity of the inquirer; the King Edward VII hospital clearly failed miserably in this respect and has serious questions to answer.

 

The television interviews given by the 2 Australian radio presenters who perpetrated the hoax were excrutiatingly dreadful. Their tearful apologies and expressions of regret surely were more intended to try to salvage their own careers than anything; why their careers should be at risk is a question that perhaps needs to be answered. They did nothing terrible, it was simply a childish prank; the only people in their organisation who should be in real trouble are the managers who agreed to broadcast the telephonic conversation.

 

No doubt this story will rumble on for a few days yet, hopefully not very many. Behind the scenes, one or two heads might well, and probably should, roll, but let's not get this out of proportion. It was a silly stunt and nothing more; the sad outcome for one individual was of her own design and we should not be looking to lay the blame at the door of anyone else.