The nurse should not have needed to deal with the hoax call

It was a prank that went wrong with tragic consequences, but the resulting outcry really is much ado about nothing. An Australian radio station made a hoax call to the hospital treating the Duchess of Cambridge for morning sickness. The nurse who first took the call apparently killed herself days later, as a result of the controversy that followed the hoax. The radio jockeys behind the pranks have been threatened with criminal investigations and publicly abused. They have apologised for the crank call and are reportedly receiving psychological counselling to deal with the consequences of their actions.

Reality is the radio jockeys did nothing different from what many radio stations the world over do everyday, often with cooperation from the listeners. The hospital authorities, who have led the condemnation of the radio station, have yet to explain the flagrant breach of confidentiality or basic security procedures around a high-profile patient. The nurse should not have needed to deal with the call. It is hard to say the radio station broke any law. And, as understandable as the condemnation is, revenge is not justice.