The nurse who took the prank call committed suicide

I seriously doubt, if what the papers are reporting is true- which is that no complaint had been made and the nurses involved were being supported by the hospital and not admonished or in danger of losing their jobs, etc. etc - and that the royals had not complained and made a fuss, etc...that this would be enough on its own to make someone with a family and a career that she loved and was reportedly very good at, suddenly decide, in the space of a couple of days, to end it all.

I haven't read anything in the reports I've read to say that she had expressed devastation or trepidation or intense worry etc. about her role in what happened to anyone in her family or to any of her fellow nurses.

Maybe she was experiencing separate emotional problems and this just happened to occur at around the same time she'd been contemplating suicide.

In terms of blame, unless someone directly and extensively emotionally or physically abuses another person, I don't think anyone can be said to have 'caused' another person to commit suicide. If someone is not prone to think in terms of self-harm or suicide - no one else can do anything to make them decide suddenly to take that drastic step- short of hold a gun to their head and force them to swallow pills - and then that's not suicide.

I found the whole 'royal baby' thing over here a little much to tell you the truth. I kept thinking, 'A baby is a baby...happy for them...congratulations and all that, but I'm no more excited and happy for them than I would be for my colleague at work and her husband who just found out they're having their first baby.' All babies are special! Give me a break...a royal baby...come on!

And these dj's that spend their lives acting silly and playing pranks - well, maybe this will dampen a little of that jokester, 'oh, aren't we so funny' immaturity and spur them on to really do something meaningful with their lives.

I think this woman is tragic and it IS sad that she didn't want to go on with her life for whatever reason- but I don't think a prank call that wouldn't have resulted in her losing her job - and in which she hadn't even been identified as being the one who answered the phone and on whom the prank was played- would be enough to make someone who'd never considered suicide before suddenly decide to take that sort of action.

I think it's just an unfortunate coincidence and being blown out of proportion because she happened to have been a bit player in a scenario that involved the 'royal' family a few days before.

Actually, she'd probably appreciate a little privacy for her family at this very difficult time. As the sister of someone who committed suicide - I can almost guarantee you that's what THEY (her family) would appreciate.

Well, one thing that has me gob-smacked throughout the entire story is that the nurses believed the QUEEN was calling! I wonder when was the last time she ever personally made a phone call? I mean, seriously, do you believe she would have placed that call herself? I would have thought she'd have her assistant check it out and if she'd wanted to talk to Kate herself he could have gotten her on the line.

Not to mention that their accents didn't sound the least bit British and her voice certainly did not sound like the Queen.

And as others have said, in these days, there is NO INFORMATION going out to anyone, especially over the phone! I mean, this is not 1950... there are privacy systems in place everywhere, and hospitals have had them for a long time. If you even want to ask a question about something, anywhere, you have to give 'confirm' all your info (name, address, birthdate, etc) - even with the cable company, who I called yesterday to get help with something.

Edit: I also agree with Piers Morgan - pranks have been played since the beginning of man and this was harmless. It was the nurse on the ward who made the mistake of handing out information. In this day of Privacy Concerns, I doubt very much the DJs thought they'd actually get any information. The fact that the nurse downstairs committed suicide is what made this such big news and put a black spot on everything but the DJs are not responsible for that. Who can predict how someone's going to take something? And we don't know why she did it. We don't know there weren't a pile of other things bothering her and this was the last straw. Or maybe her supervisor ripped her a new one and that's what did it. Who knows?

I know Nurses have awefully long shifts.

The woman who committed suicide, answered the phone I believe, at 5.30am in the morning as there was no receptionist. I can only imagine, that she probably had already been working 10hrs by that time or there abouts. Can we really think clearly working that many hours, at that hour? I also believe that Nurses aren't scheduled to the same time day in, day out and so their body clock has to get out of wack.

Maybe that is the reason why she didn't pick it up, that it wasn't the Queen. Who knows.

I am sure that somewhere I did read that she had other issues and the Hospital was helping her with that, this probably was the final straw, she probably thought she would lose her job be sent back home, be homeless, be a shame to her family... Culture perhaps also may have played a part.

Still it is sad. And, still, I think the Producers should think of consequences of all actions before making a management decision on any pranks.

It was sad to hear the news, maybe there are more reasons why that nurse died.

Somehow the chance that someone would suicide over the prank seem not something anyone could predict ahead of time.

I don't know details, but I do know two major hospitals. There are modes in place.

I don't blame the nurse exactly. I blame her training.. probably.

And you know that because you're a native English speaker. How well do you think you'd do spotting a bad Angela Merkel impression? The lady was Indian, and notions of shame and honour are far greater in Indian society. As this was constantly broadcast she felt people were laughing at her and humiliating her. She may also have felt that she betrayed her employer, her neighbours had spoken of how proud she was of being the 'Queen's nurse.'

You're looking at this from a purely western viewpoint, and failing to take into account the sensibilities of someone who is not part of that tradition.

I have not heard any of that reported. I guess we're not getting as much info as you are.

You don't know how long she's been in the UK, do you? If she were born and bred there, it'd be a different story.

If I have the facts right, all she did was put the call through to the Nurse On Duty. That's a lot less to blame than the Nurse who gave out the info. Wouldn't THAT nurse have spotted the DJ wasn't really the Queen?

Did no one even question that the Queen was calling? That's the part that has me so surprised.

It has been in the news here (and in India) yesterday/today:


Shes been in the UK for ten years, if I remember correctly.

but surely suicide is a sin

That hit me hard to the idea that a devoutly Catholic would suicide over being shame seem odd.

grrrr, suicide is NOT a verb Bill

And that's your only problem with BillRM's slobbering prose?

Sorry but the oxford online dictionary disagree with you.


http://oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/suicide?q=SUICIDE

suicideSyllabification: (su·i·cide)
Pronunciation: /ˈso͞oiˌsīd/


Translate suicide | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of suicide
noun
the action of killing oneself intentionally:

he committed suicide at the age of forty

drug-related suicides•a person who does this.
•a course of action that is disastrously damaging to oneself or one’s own interests:

it would be political suicide to restrict criteria for unemployment benefits
•[as modifier] relating to or denoting a violent act or attack carried out by a person who does not expect to survive it:

a suicide bombing
verb
[no object]intentionally kill oneself:

he leaves the service and then suicidesOrigin:mid 17th century: from modern Latin suicida 'act of suicide', suicidium 'person who commits suicide', from Latin sui 'of oneself' + caedere 'kill'

suicide in other Oxford dictionaries
Definition of suicide in the dictionary British & World English

I do too. There's always aggression in back of them.

I think the DJs were bullying and thus subject to the law.

What law of what nation?

Farmerman google online words look up also disagree with you as "suicide meaning" pull up the following.

su·i·cide
/ˈso͞oiˌsīd/Noun
The action of killing oneself intentionally: "he committed suicide at the age of forty".


Verb
Intentionally kill oneself.


Synonyms
noun. self-destruction - self-murder
verb. take one's own life - make away with oneself

More info - Wikipedia - Dictionary.com - Answers.com - The Free Dictionary

Bill, suicide is killing oneself, but you use it with the word 'commit'. Here are some samples of how it's used, from another dictionary. It is not used alone in the way you used it.

Finally, his wife commits suicide, joining him in death.
Study 2 - risk factors for parents ' attempted suicide.
Suicide bombers did not come out of thin air.
The committee felt that the risk of copycat suicides should be addressed specifically.
The opening chapter ends with barrett contemplating suicide: . this gives me something to think about for the next three or four hours.
Rommel, linked to a plot to kill hitler, committed suicide on hitler's orders.
Suicide pact.
Some of the placebo suicides took place while patients were withdrawing from an older drug.
There should be no law change to allow assisted suicide.
The call came on friday in response to the introduction of a new bill by lord joffe to legalize physician-assisted suicide.
Suicide bombs trebled.
New research shows more than a third of young people know someone who has attempted suicide.
She was only ten years old when her father commited suicide.
Suicide prevention project of the flemish mental health centers.
This triggers a chain reaction in the cancer cells, which can result in them commiting suicide.
Tho the uk media refers to dr. kelly's " apparent suicide, " no one has looked into the possibility of foul play.
Suicide attempts in the detention camp.
The criminality of abortion would be reaffirmed, even in cases of threatened suicide.
Unfortunately, antonia's studies came to an end with her father's tragic suicide.

I don't think the incident fits into a bully scenario.
I think this Nurse had some internal issues before this call even took place. The horrible accent put on by these jokesters would have been a dead give away, knowing that any sane native British talker would have been easily be able to pick up on this anomaly. I think this nurse was "sleep working" lost in some thought, possibly premeditating suicide, and let this call slip through.
I gather all this from the given information at hand. Any new developments maydiverge from my current thought on the matter, so don't hold it against me.

EDIT: Going back and reading Izzy's post, I looked around and read that Jacintha and her family came to Britain nine years before this incident. That's enough time to tell the difference between a real British accent and a fake one, correct?
Izzy, help me on this, since you're from Britain.

Anyway, all she did was put the call through. She didn't do anything wrong. It was the other nurse who was at fault. Her reaction was an over-reaction by any normal person. She must have had other issues and, in fact, that has been implied.

Yes, it's sad, but one must wonder what else would have sent her over the edge. Mentally healthy people do not commit suicide over putting a call through, and they do not take on the blame for something they didn't do.