Australian radio station to give $500,000 to nurse's family

This apology makes me sick, along with how the presenters are "distressed" and "attending counselling." Im going to bet they are nowhere near as upset as her family are... they are sad about losing their careers, thats all. What the nurses family must be feeling runs far deeper than that.

No amount of money can bring back a mother ...

kimuzukashiiiii Dec. 12, 2012 - 07:53AM JST No amount of money can bring back a mother ...

I'm sure it never occurred to the djs that this woman would commit suicide after their prank, but they did set out to humiliate her and her fellow nurse and that is reprehensible on its own. However, she might've had other issues.

“We are very sorry for what has happened,” Rhys Holleran, chief executive of Southern Cross Austereo which owns the station, said in a statement.

“We hope that by contributing to a memorial fund we can help to provide the Saldanha family with the support they need at this very difficult time.”

Well it's about time there was SOME sort of apology from the station. This was his initial comment:

"We've followed procedure ... and we're satisfied that that procedure was met," he said. "We're very confident that we haven't done anything illegal

And that was followed by the claim that they tried to contact the hospital five times. A claim that has been subsequently denied by the hospital.

No amount of money can bring back a mother ...

I'm sorry but, the only person to blame is the woman who killed herself.

No matter how much of an embarrassment it was for her, I doubt it was worth leaving her husband and 2 kids with no wife/mother.

why??? They did not kill her! She was totally selfsh and took her own life! She had 2 kids and killed herself anyways....soooooooo selfish!!!! As a father, my kid comes first over my own selfish needs and emotions!!!

I'm sorry but, the only person to blame is the woman who killed herself.

How dare you tell the truth in these days of double-talk and lack of personal responsibility.

She was totally selfsh and took her own life!

What? You too? Since when was it acceptable not to blame someone else for your situation?

No matter who you try blame, people should be more considerate of others.

This is not the fault of the radio station. The hospital hired this mentally unstable receptionist that obviously doesn't understand security procedures with patients. Prank calls have never anything more than a gag and for someone to kill themselves over not doing their job is really weak. Not to mention, I'm sure she was berated by her bosses and "others". Tell me what job would you kill yourself over handling a call? Just crazy how the mob are out for blood on these innocent Australians. The call wasn't even malicious! Wake up people.

How dare you tell the truth in these days of double-talk and lack of personal responsibility.

Yeah, I know the media jump all over this, blaming the radio show, when all it comes down to is the media blowing everything out of proportion and one selfish woman who can't take a joke.

If she was the dummy who blabbed everything, I could maybe understand, but all she said was "hold on a minute" or something, and connected the call, right?

Newspapers are getting on their high horse about this, seemingly forgetting that they killed Diana and got off scott free.

Anyone who blames the radio show for this suicide, is an idiot.

It's only a pledge - they haven't given anything yet!

As always the lowest-ranked people involved have been disciplined while the higher-ups who approved the prank escape all responsibility. Not cool.

The strange thing is that she wasn't even the person who divulged the personal details - she just passed on the call to the ward.

This is such a stupid story and it has come out that this woman was often ridiculed in the workplace. I wonder how many people jumping to this women's defense even listened to the prank. The entire length of time Jacintha Saldanha was on the phone was 6 seconds. Here is the entire "traumatizing" phone call that she was a part of.

Radio Show DJ:Hello Good Morning Jacintha Saldanha: Hello, good morning, King Edward VII hospital Radio Show DJ: Oh, hello there. Can I please speak to Kate, please -- my granddaughter Jacintha Saldanha: Oh, yes, just hold on, ma'am.

THE END.

Now are you trying to tell me an otherwise stable person would be so effected by this that it would drive them to suicide? Get real people.

Anyone who blames the radio show for this suicide, is an idiot.

If You are putting whole blame on the person who did suicide. Then I guess u are on bully's side. May be she had some other issues. But that joke was very irresponsible act. They should have got her consent. One take a joke or prank when he/she doesn't have to go through humiliation every single minute of his/her life. By airing that call on Radio, They did something which encouraged other pl too, to make fun her, to the point she couldn't handle.

Maybe you are a very tough guy mentally , but not every is tough as you.

If You are putting whole blame on the person who did suicide. Then I guess u are on bully's side.

They aren't "bullies", it wasn't malicious. It was a joke.

May be she had some other issues.

She obviously had, since she killed herself over nothing.

But that joke was very irresponsible act.

Well done. You admit it was a joke.

They should have got her consent.

Her consent for what?

One take a joke or prank when he/she doesn't have to go through humiliation every single minute of his/her life.

"Humiliation for telling someone to hold on while you connected them?

By airing that call on Radio, They did something which encouraged other pl too, to make fun her, to the point she couldn't handle.

I'd say that the person who answered all of the DJ's questions got made fun of more. And they're still around.

Maybe you are a very tough guy mentally , but not every is tough as you.

No. I know how to take a joke though. And I care more for my family than to kill myself. Especially over something so tiny.

I completely agree with you, Probie. The day and day after the prank, the Brit media either found it somewhat amusing or were rolling their eyes- The next day they'd hopped on the social media pitchfork and torch bandwagon. While I think 2Day FM is trashy and pretty much bogan-feed, their idea of pranks is far more tame than others done every day by radio stations all around the world. Maybe prank calls belong in the 90s, but the consequences could not have been foreseen and the woman in question took her own life needlessly since this whole thing would have blown over and forgotten fairly quickly in this ADHD-riddled Twitter/Facebook world.

even though this is sad and regrettable. but think: if there was no suicide the dj's would be heroes and of course the radio company gets the credit. nothing more to say.

I'm sorry but, the only person to blame is the woman who killed herself.

No matter how much of an embarrassment it was for her, I doubt it was worth leaving her husband and 2 kids with no wife/mother.

Well, put yourself front and centre as the lynchpin of an international media sensation/scandal, and see if you can hold that opinion of yours.

I'm guessing you'd be changing your tune quick smart.

Blaming the victim is cruel and senseless.

The number of seconds which this nurse handled the call do not matter, she transferred the call to another nurse which resulted in confidential information being released.

The resulting embarrassment for both nurses was public, the humiliation international. There must obviously have been some reaction from colleagues and for all you know the other nurse which would have driven the nurse to take this step.

The blame is first on the radio station and then the DJs, I hope there is a fat lawsuit on the way.

I'm sorry but, the only person to blame is the woman who killed herself. No matter how much of an embarrassment it was for her, I doubt it was worth leaving her husband and 2 kids with no wife/mother.

Well, put yourself front and centre as the lynchpin of an international media sensation/scandal, and see if you can hold that opinion of yours. I'm guessing you'd be changing your tune quick smart.

No, because if I was in her position, and only answered the phone, I wouldn't decide I had to leave my spouse and kids in such a selfish way.

Blaming the victim is cruel and senseless.

No. It's her fault that she thought she had to act that way. She made the choice. If she hadn't killed herself, the prank call wouldn't even be news anymore.

The number of seconds which this nurse handled the call do not matter, she transferred the call to another nurse which resulted in confidential information being released.

So....? So what? Is that such a bad thing that you should kill yourself? No, it isn't.

The resulting embarrassment for both nurses was public, the humiliation international. There must obviously have been some reaction from colleagues and for all you know the other nurse which would have driven the nurse to take this step.

Yeah, she'd have got a talking to, but I don't know what could be so bad that she'd kill herself. She must have had other issues.

The blame is first on the radio station and then the DJs, I hope there is a fat lawsuit on the way.

No. The blame is on her. She made the decision. Any law suit that comes from this would be ludicrous. What are they going to allege? Prank-Phone-Call-Manslaughter?

If the station and DJ's get a law suit against them, the hospital should too. Because, if they scared her to the point of her killing herself, the hospital, and the media, should be sued too.

Oh please don't waste my time playing this blame game. The underlying fact remains unaltered, that a precious life was lost. Serious laws must be created to take down this prank industry. Scamsters and pranksters work alike fooling their victims. So why leave pranksters above the law?

One must not be able to escape merely by paying $500,000 and keep it under the wrap. Take it to the court if its already not. Only then this prank business like "MTV pranked" etc could be stopped.

No, because if I was in her position, and only answered the phone, I wouldn't decide I had to leave my spouse and kids in such a selfish way.

Wow. She is the victim of a prank designed to embarass and humiliate her, to get laughs at her expense - which it did, and you make her the selfish one. Your inability to empathise in any way is perfectly indicative of the mentality that thinks this kind of thing is 'funny', and a 'harmless prank'. I see it more akin to bullying, myself.

'You've been humiliated and embarassed in the most public way, but hey, just suck it up and get on with it. What's WRONG with you?'

The point here is - she should never have been put in this position in the first place. The responsibility for that is entirely with the radio station.

Oh please don't waste my time playing this blame game. The underlying fact remains unaltered, that a precious life was lost. Serious laws must be created to take down this prank industry. Scamsters and pranksters work alike fooling their victims. So why leave pranksters above the law?

What the station did wasn't against the law.

One must not be able to escape merely by paying $500,000 and keep it under the wrap. Take it to the court if its already not. Only then this prank business like "MTV pranked" etc could be stopped.

Knee-jerk reaction of the year.

Wow. She is the victim of a prank designed to embarass and humiliate her, to get laughs at her expense - which it did, and you make her the selfish one.

Yeah. She didn't have to kill herself. She made the choice.

Your inability to empathise in any way is perfectly indicative of the mentality that thinks this kind of thing is 'funny', and a 'harmless prank'. I see it more akin to bullying, myself.

I don't think it was funny. I think it was stupid and childish. But, it was meant to be harmless prank. The one who escalated it, was the woman who killed herself.

'You've been humiliated and embarassed in the most public way, but hey, just suck it up and get on with it. What's WRONG with you?'

I don't know? I thought that was the normal thing to do. Also, why she thought she was humiliated because she transferred a call, and someone else blabbed, is a mystery.

The point here is - she should never have been put in this position in the first place.

I agree with that. A hospital of that stature should have trained telephone operators to take all calls. Not the nursing staff.

The responsibility for that is entirely with the radio station.

No. It's with her. She decided to die. Also, as I said in my last comment. The hospital should be sued for scaring her to the point of suicide; and every newspaper and television/website/etc that hyped-up the original story should be sued too.

@Probie

What the station did wasn't against the law.

Sooner or later it will be.

No one could possibly know how the victim would react to such pranks. She could have had pre-existing medical condition. This does not mean that she is to be blamed.You could kill a diabetic by overdosing with sugary drink. Response to stimuli...

No. It's her fault that she thought she had to act that way. She made the choice

Suicide is not a calculated decision, its an emotional one, coming out of hopelessness. Your enlightened approach will mean that bullying should not be taken seriously ,because even if somebody kills themselves because of it, its their fault.

So....? So what? Is that such a bad thing that you should kill yourself? No, it isn't

For her it was, each person is sensitive in his/her own unique way, dont generalize everybody based on your beliefs.

Yeah, she'd have got a talking to, but I don't know what could be so bad that she'd kill herself. She must have had other issues.

We know she didn't at least by her superiors. How about issues like public humiliation, job insecurity. Maybe she couldn't afford to get laid off and feared she would. Does that make her a psycho?

Any law suit that comes from this would be ludicrous.

No it would not, the radio station publicly humiliated somebody resulting in their death.The radio station knows it and are running scared just like DJs.

No it would not, the radio station publicly humiliated somebody resulting in their death.

No, what she did when she got home resulted in her death. Anyone who believes otherwise is a coward. And a moron.

The hospital should have given her a week off with full pay allowing this to blow over, assured her that her job was not in jeopardy and that measures would be taken in the future so that she is not exposed to this sort of thing again.

How about issues like public humiliation, job insecurity.

There are hundreds upon thousands of examples where people have publicly come off second best and start again tomorrow like nothing ever happened. Shit blows over in a day or two. That's life baby, what are you gonna do? Imagine sacking this woman for what happened, you can guarantee that you are going to be up against both a lawsuit and the public.

Bottom line: Had she not killed herself, nobody would be talking about this and it would just be another trashy headline from last week.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamie_Rodemeyer

ProbieDec. 12, 2012 - 05:30PM JST

Oh please don't waste my time playing this blame game. The underlying fact remains unaltered, that a precious life was lost. Serious laws must be created to take down this prank industry. Scamsters and pranksters work alike fooling their victims. So why leave pranksters above the law?

What the station did wasn't against the law.

Probie, you may want to read the link I listed above. There are a huge global consensus against bullying. Bullying is simply wrong. There will be a law to stop this senseless meanest act.

Why is this the radio station's fault? No one could predict anyone committing suicide because of this.

No, what she did when she got home resulted in her death. Anyone who believes otherwise is a coward. And a moron

So, what happened before she got home from work had nothing to do with her death, in your opinion? Rediculous.

Bottom line: Had she not killed herself, nobody would be talking about this and it would just be another trashy headline from last week.

This was a global media scandal for several days before she did what she did.

I love all these tough guy armchair specialists who sit at the comfort of their loungeroom keyboard in complete anonymity telling the world to harden up, whilst all the while having no idea what intense negative world attention would actually be like.

@deepstar6

What the station did wasn't against the law.

Sooner or later it will be.

I hope not. Because that would be stupid. What's next, putting people in jail for calling someone a "silly goose"?

No one could possibly know how the victim would react to such pranks. She could have had pre-existing medical condition. This does not mean that she is to be blamed.You could kill a diabetic by overdosing with sugary drink. Response to stimuli...

If that's the case, you couldn't do ANYTHING without the danger of someone killing themselves.

BTW, I loved the movie Deepstar 6 when I was a kid. It ruled.

@ulysses

Suicide is not a calculated decision, its an emotional one, coming out of hopelessness. Your enlightened approach will mean that bullying should not be taken seriously ,because even if somebody kills themselves because of it, its their fault.

Except this case isn't about bullying!! There was no malice.

For her it was, each person is sensitive in his/her own unique way, dont generalize everybody based on your beliefs.

You want to live in a mollycoddled society then?

Yeah, she'd have got a talking to, but I don't know what could be so bad that she'd kill herself. She must have had other issues.

We know she didn't at least by her superiors. How about issues like public humiliation, job insecurity. Maybe she couldn't afford to get laid off and feared she would. Does that make her a psycho?

No, it makes her emotionally unbalanced. She should have got help, not just kill herself. She wouldn't have got as much "public humiliation" as the woman who talked the most. That woman is still alive. Which shows that the one who killed herself had emotional issues. Blaming a couple of radio DJ's on the other side of the planet for that is wrong.

Any law suit that comes from this would be ludicrous.

No it would not, the radio station publicly humiliated somebody resulting in their death.The radio station knows it and are running scared just like DJs.

They're running scared because they know liberals and the PC crowd softies will be gathering up their flaming torches and pitchforks for the new cause celebre.

@globalwatcher

Probie, you may want to read the link I listed above. There are a huge global consensus against bullying. Bullying is simply wrong. There will be a law to stop this senseless meanest act.

COMPLETELY different to this situation. A link to the Suez Canal wikipedia page would be just as relevant.

No, what she did when she got home resulted in her death. Anyone who believes otherwise is a coward. And a moron.

That's got to be the lamest statement in this whole conversation.

Shit blows over in a day or two.

This was a humiliation played out worldwide, it would have followed her for years. People are sensitive and react to things differently, and the act of the radio station triggered what happened finally. They are to blame, full stop.

They're running scared because they know liberals

@Probie, I stopped reading here, you need help son.

@globalwatcher

Probie, you may want to read the link I listed above. There are a huge global consensus against bullying. Bullying is simply wrong. There will be a law to stop this senseless meanest act.

COMPLETELY different to this situation. A link to the Suez Canal wikipedia page would be just as relevant.

Probie, if you click the link, you should get to the right topic. It is relevant to this topic. The prank call is a bullying and it is not acceptable.

@ulysseeEEeeEEees

@Probie, I stopped reading here, you need help son.

Everybody knows it's true that liberals and the PC crowd love stuff like this. They like forcing laws to "protect" people because of isolated incidents.

@globalwatcher

Probie, if you click the link, you should get to the right topic. It is relevant to this topic. The prank call is a bullying and it is not acceptable.

No, it's not relevant. Because this case wasn't bullying!