Jacintha Saldanha

7 posts / 0 new

Mon, 2012-12-10 22:59

Jacintha Saldanha

There’s been much written and much radio debate today about the suicide of Jacintha Saldanha. Mind you, not many people know that there was another suicide on Friday. Both deaths fill me with profound sadness. And both lives, of course, held paramount importance for their loved ones. One hit the news, and the other didn’t, so allow me to focus for a brief minute on the suicide that everyone’s talking about today.

Am I the only one who wonders why Jacintha was left on her own to answer the phone to Australian DJs or any other caller?

The Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 makes it very clear that part of an employer’s duties to employees is to provide Information, Instruction, Training & Supervision (IITS). And without a shadow of a doubt King Edward VII's Hospital have not only let Jacintha down here but failed to carry out their legal duties as an employer.

In the construction industry we have to ensure that IITS is given in a variety of ways. All operatives are trained and competent for the duties they’ll be carrying out on site. Nobody commences work without a daily Safe-2-Start briefing from an SSSTS-certified supervisor or above. (Site Safety Supervisors Training Scheme). Information is given through a variety of media; i.e. posters, site inductions, toolbox talks, workshops.

Without a doubt the hospital has their own version of these, but surely with a royal guest, information should be cascaded down to all members of staff – possibly through the hospital’s own version of toolbox talks – that all phone calls are to be referred to the press office. All large organisations have a press dept., insurance dept. and lawyers on retainer, and hospitals are no exception.

King Edwards are culpable here in not providing Jacintha with the required Information, Instructions on what to say should someone – ANYONE – phone up requesting information, and competent Supervision. (The word competent, by the way, means training plus experience).

In failing to carry out their legal duties (HaSaWA 1974) King Edwards let her down badly, and I would go so far as to say they’ve broken the law.

Just a thought.

Mon, 2012-12-10 23:49

Das Stavrou

Just have to say i felt bloody awful hearing about her, something terribly naive and innocent about her. Sad state of affairs.

Sun, 2013-01-13 12:15

(Reply to #2) #3

prettypolly

Dreadful though the news of her death was,I wonder what there was in those Australian DJSs hoax to cause her to commit suicide. Most people would have just shrugged it off as extreme stupidity.

Tue, 2012-12-11 07:51

Linda Wigzell Cress

Such a great sadness to lose a nurse, wife, mother like this.I so agree with Karl that the hospital is culpable, not only in the legal way described but actually? surely there should have been a proper receptionist to take the call? Couldn't the most famous private hospital in London afford one? Hoax calls are and always have been a feature of public life. A hospital such as this which regularly has VIP patients should have proper procedures in place to deal with enquiries, especially when we are talking heirs to the throne! As far as I know the hospital has yet to explain why poor Jacintha (a nurse not receptionist) was obliged to take the call. They need to explain and examine their security procedures. Linda

Linda

Tue, 2012-12-11 08:20

karl_wiggins

Whenever we have a serious 'incident' at work our own Crisis Management Team will arrive before the HSE is even on site. Word will go out through emails and be cascaded down the line to Project Directors, line managers etc. to refer all calls to the press dept. Nobody could envisage that this could turn out to be the serious incident that it did, but either way hospitals also have procedures. They're legally bound to.

Tue, 2012-12-11 08:34

scratch

Zalgrades makes a good point. There must have been a terrible vulnerability in Jacintha's psyche. It is an awful tragedy. I think that this sort of 'prank' call is deplorable. I'm sure everyone recalls those two tossers Ross and Brand behaving in an even more despicable way towards Andrew Sachs? What they did was far worse than what these two radio DJ's did (in my opinion). But I am about to step out of line here and hope that I don't get pilloried for it. Committing suicide as the result of innocently taking and unsolicited telephone call seems an extreme course of action.

Tue, 2012-12-11 09:35

Linda Wigzell Cress

You are right Scratch. Poor Jcintha must have had other issues to warrant such extreme action when no real harm was done. A tragedy. Linda

Linda