The Duchess of Cambridge is pregnant!


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Duchess of Durham said:
That is a bad example as a husband is considered next of kin thus it would not be unreasonable to be telling a husband how his wife is doing.

However, if someone called pretending to be MO's brother and info was given out, that would be wrong.
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Fair enough, though it's a bit of a special case. Nonetheless my points are:
1. Be it thehusband, a public figure etc. They should be taking every possible step to make sure they're speaking with the right person.
2. The Duchess is a public figure and unfortunately a target for bad people, with less luck they could have done much worse and so shouldn't be in a position to do the same in the future.
 
Duchess of Durham said:
What they did may be considered unethical, but it isn't as bad as the nurse giving out the information.

Spin it any way you want, what she did was worse than what they did.
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Is it a contest?
It's not attempting to spin anything to point out that the radio personalities were grossly unethical in their behaviour - no "may" about it.
 
PrincessKaimi said:
Would the nurse and operator be fired if this was anyone else whose family claimed to be calling?
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Yes, if a similar situation happened in the US and the family complained, the person could be fired and even prosecuted.
 
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Congratulations to William and Catherine. Hoping the sickness doesn't last much longer. My mother was sick her whole pregnancy with me and had it rough. That probably explains why she didn't have anymore babies after me. Wishing Catherine a safe delivery and no more issues with the pregnancy.:flowers: Can't wait to hear when the baby will arrive.
 
British Royals ‏@britishroyals The Church of England has issued a beautiful PRAYER for Prince William & Kate today. God our creator, we thank you for the wonder of new life and for the mystery of human love."We pray for William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge as they prepare to receive the gift of their child."We thank you that we are known to you by name & loved by you from all eternity, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen"
 
With regard to the unfortunate telephone call, I believe that the hospital operator and nurse were very poorly briefed about who might be likely to call and when. Their supervisor or manager or someone in administrative management there should have been briefed about whether or not members of the royal family would be likely to phone and when. Clearly no-one said anything to anyone about the fact that neither the Queen nor Prince Charles would ever be likely to telephone. As such, clearly the operator and the nurse thought they were actually speaking to the Queen (as unlikely as it now seems to be). So what do you do when confronted with the Queen on the telephone? ...."oh, sorry love, can't give out information like that.....no, dear, you may be the Queen but you're not next of kin...." I doubt very much many of us would have said that.

Having now heard the entire hoax call, I am very angry that not only did these so- called presenters put two people in a very difficult sitaution with the potential of losing their jobs (just for the fun of it - hey, lets just muck someone's life up and get them into trouble), they have treated the Queen and the Prince of Wales in a very ungracious, mocking, and quite frankly childish way.
 
Exactly, while some are sending the nurse to The Tower of London, these radio presenters are getting what they wanted, fame. Their prank is all over the news, CNN, ABC, MSNBC, BBC, Sky, etc. What they did was violate the privacy of a patient.

I'm just happy this crazy incident haven't dampen the spirits of TRH.
 
If she is really having twins when would the public find out?

In the US that would definitely be a HIPAA violation. But at our hospital people always ask how the surgery went or how the patient is doing and we always say "fine" or "they are sleeping" or whatever unless there are specific people we are told no to tell any information with. If you're vague enough it's generally fine at my hospital.
 
AV7 said:
Perhaps not, but this isn't just anyone. If this was the USA, Michelle Obama would have been in hospital and someone would have made a hoax call pretending to be Barack Obama asking private question, would the nurse been able to keep her job? I doubt it.
No information should be given on anyone unless you're sure the patient agrees (or in this case, you're sure you are indeed speaking with the Queen), but it's more than that. Thankfully it's 'just' a revolting but harmless prank, what if it was someone with truly bad intentions?
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Actually, I would doubt strongly that Michelle would be in a hospital in one of the States or Districts whose labor laws permit firing someone merely because a celebrity/security risk is involved. ALL patient information is inviolate - BUT, certain people (family members) are allowed to inquire over the phone. If someone fraudulent misrepresents themselves to hospital staff, labor laws in most states afford the employee quite a bit of protection (even at a private hospital; most nurses are, btw, unionized for just this kind of protection).

So I doubt that the person would be fired. I work at institution with federally enforced privacy laws (FERPA) and while employees are sometimes given 3 or 7 or 10 days without pay at their first violation, they are never, ever fired (that's a whole other can of worms). Labor law is pretty clear that if employees have not materially harmed someone (and this nurse did not), that the first incidence of breaking a rule should result in disciplinary action, not outright firing. Most nurses here in the U.S. would have that in their employment contract even if they weren't unionized.

Kate herself was not hurt, harassed, spoken to by the caller or anything else. The information released merely confirmed that she was in the hospital (which was already known) and the only "extra" information that was in violation of what would be U.S. federal laws on these matters was that she was sleeping comfortably.

No, the person would not be fired if it were Michelle Obama, Ronald Reagan (when he was alive), Lindsay Lohan, Mrs. Romney or any other person you could think of with "status" of any kind in the U.S.

But it's interesting that someone would think that would be so automatic...anywhere. Where I live, good nurses are in such short supply that certainly a less dramatic and punitive consequence would be applied in a case like this one. Indeed, employers (like the University of Virginia) have been forced to rehire employees when capricious firings took place...
 
Duchess of Durham said:
If the Middletons went in via a back entrance yesterday, I wonder why everyone else doesn't use the back entrance to go in too.
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Perhaps at this point there are photogs at both entrances? I would assume so. Then one would choose the entrance that was otherwise most practical.
 
Jacknch said:
With regard to the unfortunate telephone call, I believe that the hospital operator and nurse were very poorly briefed about who might be likely to call and when. Their supervisor or manager or someone in administrative management there should have been briefed about whether or not members of the royal family would be likely to phone and when. Clearly no-one said anything to anyone about the fact that neither the Queen nor Prince Charles would ever be likely to telephone. As such, clearly the operator and the nurse thought they were actually speaking to the Queen (as unlikely as it now seems to be). So what do you do when confronted with the Queen on the telephone? ...."oh, sorry love, can't give out information like that.....no, dear, you may be the Queen but you're not next of kin...." I doubt very much many of us would have said that.

Having now heard the entire hoax call, I am very angry that not only did these so- called presenters put two people in a very difficult sitaution with the potential of losing their jobs (just for the fun of it - hey, lets just muck someone's life up and get them into trouble), they have treated the Queen and the Prince of Wales in a very ungracious, mocking, and quite frankly childish way.
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I agree. Hospital administrators need to do more training with their staff.

Since it is the Queen we are talking about, one could presume she can do anything she likes; employees should have been told how to handle it if she did call and also the extreme unlikelihood of any such call being made directly by the Queen.

But unless someone actually knows the Queen's minds and all its intricacies, I seriously doubt that anyone wants to go over to Buckingham to make absolutely certain the Queen would never, ever place such a call. How would anyone know that with certainty?

The employees need a little more training (and the nurse did very well at providing only bare minimum information and from what I heard, ceased talking when it became clearly it was a prank). People who are saying that the dogs were barking before the nurse gave her information to "the Queen" haven't heard the call. From the moment that the Queen starts interacting with "the Prince" who is then named as "Prince Charles," that nurse is virtually silent and clearly having to rethink what's going on. I feel for the nurse, as it's enough to have to take care of any patients and be responsible for their very lives, much less someone who is well-known.

If the hospital administrators are not the ones taking the blame for this, then they are odious people. The blame should be small though, as circuses abound and no harm was done.
 
PrincessKaimi said:
Actually, I would doubt strongly that Michelle would be in a hospital in one of the States or Districts whose labor laws permit firing someone merely because a celebrity/security risk is involved. ALL patient information is inviolate - BUT, certain people (family members) are allowed to inquire over the phone. If someone fraudulent misrepresents themselves to hospital staff, labor laws in most states afford the employee quite a bit of protection (even at a private hospital; most nurses are, btw, unionized for just this kind of protection).

So I doubt that the person would be fired. I work at institution with federally enforced privacy laws (FERPA) and while employees are sometimes given 3 or 7 or 10 days without pay at their first violation, they are never, ever fired (that's a whole other can of worms). Labor law is pretty clear that if employees have not materially harmed someone (and this nurse did not), that the first incidence of breaking a rule should result in disciplinary action, not outright firing. Most nurses here in the U.S. would have that in their employment contract even if they weren't unionized.

Kate herself was not hurt, harassed, spoken to by the caller or anything else. The information released merely confirmed that she was in the hospital (which was already known) and the only "extra" information that was in violation of what would be U.S. federal laws on these matters was that she was sleeping comfortably.

No, the person would not be fired if it were Michelle Obama, Ronald Reagan (when he was alive), Lindsay Lohan, Mrs. Romney or any other person you could think of with "status" of any kind in the U.S.

But it's interesting that someone would think that would be so automatic...anywhere. Where I live, good nurses are in such short supply that certainly a less dramatic and punitive consequence would be applied in a case like this one. Indeed, employers (like the University of Virginia) have been forced to rehire employees when capricious firings took place...
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I work at a major medical institution and it is noted in our confidentiality agreements that if we violate the agreement - regardless of why - it is grounds for firing. We are not even allowed to look at our own family member's medical records without consent as, again, that is grounds for being fired. So yes, Michelle would be in a hospital pretty much anywhere in the US in which an employee could be fired for leaking it out that she is there or if anyone not linked to her care viewed her medical records. Confidentiality is a HUGE deal.

We had a national political figure stay in our hospital. His office was forced to send a press release out that he was here as someone from housekeeping had leaked it to the press that this person was here. The employee was fired.
 
Duchess of Durham said:
I work at a major medical institution and it is noted in our confidentiality agreements that if we violate the agreement - regardless of why - it is grounds for firing. We are not even allowed to look at our own family member's medical records without consent as, again, that is grounds for being fired. So yes, Michelle would be in a hospital pretty much anywhere in the US in which an employee could be fired for leaking it out that she is there or if anyone not linked to her care viewed her medical records. Confidentiality is a HUGE deal.

We had a national political figure stay in our hospital. His office was forced to send a press release out that he was here as someone from housekeeping had leaked it to the press that this person was here. The employee was fired.
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That would be true of medical information were divulged. Saying "she's sleeping" is not exactly medical information. I know where I live such a firing would be appealed in court by many nurses - and, as I said, I know of forced rehirings in just such a case.

THe employee did not leak that Kate was there (so the parallel situation would be that Michelle Obama has announced she's in hospital; at that point the information is public and no longer confidential).

It's only the "she's sleeping" part that could possibly be grounds for firing. If you truly believe at your hospital that someone would be fired for that, then where I work and teach, the hospital would be in frequent violation as many nurses prevent people (anyone) from entering a room as a visitor if the patient (whose name is on the door) is sleeping.

Where I live, nurses limit the number of visitors, but they do not ask for identification, btw. But they do divulge (to anyone who might try to enter the room) if the patient is sleeping or they may also say "is receiving a treatment or procedure right now, can't go in."

Lots of folks would be fired under rules as stringent as the ones you're mentioning.

But my main point is that where I live no, I do not believe it would matter whether it was Michelle Obama or me, the staff would behave roughly the same way. In short, we would both be protected, but the nurses do use common sense, say "Shh" when necessary or even "Patient you want to see has gone to x-ray, please don't disturb other patient, who is sleeping" when it's a double room.

Never held to be a violation of "patient confidentiality" as to "medical treatment" before - but there could be a first time. I'd like to think the Board of our hospital would not be so silly as to fire a nurse for mentioning that patient is sleeping...
 
PrincessKaimi said:
People who are saying that the dogs were barking before the nurse gave her information to "the Queen" haven't heard the call. From the moment that the Queen starts interacting with "the Prince" who is then named as "Prince Charles," that nurse is virtually silent and clearly having to rethink what's going on.
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The nurse isn't silent. She continues to give out information after the "Queen" starts interacting with "PC". Then once PC gets on the phone, the nurse talks about William, how Kate has been feeling and relays Kate's sleeping patterns.

I was wrong about saying the nurse should have known it was a prank once the Queen asked PC to walk the dogs, because that didn't happen until the end of the call - right before they hung up. But I still find it weird that the nurse didn't even think twice about it. She just went straight into giving out information.
 
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I have just heard the phone call and I cannot Belive that was true...it is impossiible that such a phone call have been made by a nurse...they are not só naive for such a thing...that was a Joke.
 
biboquinhas said:
I have just heard the phone call and I cannot Belive that was true...it is impossiible that such a phone call have been made by a nurse...they are not só naive for such a thing...that was a Joke.
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It's already been confirmed that it really happened
 
Very nice to see Carole visiting her daughter.
 
PrincessKaimi said:
That would be true of medical information were divulged. Saying "she's sleeping" is not exactly medical information. I know where I live such a firing would be appealed in court by many nurses - and, as I said, I know of forced rehirings in just such a case.
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I'm not sure where you live, but in the U.S., according to the HIPAA laws, the hospital staff cannot even tell you if someone is there or not ... or aren't supposed to, anyway. The immediate family, and anyone else authorized by the patient, is given a code that has to be revealed before any information is given over the telephone. I have gone through this experience with a sister who was in a Maryland hospital, and a brother who was in a Louisiana hospital.
 
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