12/05/2012

Prank call made to duchess's nurse

The King Edward VII Private Hospital on December 4, 2012 in London, England.
The King Edward VII Private Hospital on December 4, 2012 in London, England.
  • NEW: The hospital says it "deeply regrets" the prank call getting through to Kate's nurse
  • NEW: A nurse at King Edward VII Hospital gives DJs details of Catherine's condition
  • The two Australian radio DJs claimed to be Queen Elizabeth II and her son, Prince Charles
  • Prince William's wife is being treated for acute morning sickness

While the world waits for the royal baby, we'd like to hear from mothers: How did pregnancy change you?

London (CNN) -- Two Australian radio DJs made a prank call to the hospital where Prince William's pregnant wife, Catherine, is staying with acute morning sickness, claiming to be Queen Elizabeth II and her son, Prince Charles.

The DJs, from 2Day FM, succeeded in getting through to Kate's private nurse at King Edward VII Hospital and had a brief conversation that included some details of her condition, according to audio of the call posted online.

The hospital issued a statement Wednesday confirming that the hoax call had been transferred to a ward in the early hours of Tuesday morning and a short conversation was held with one of the nursing staff.

The hospital "deeply regrets" the incident, it said.

Royal pregnancy births new jokes
Royal baby mania gripping Britain
Buzz over royal baby, hospitalization

John Lofthouse, chief executive at the hospital, is quoted as saying: "This was a foolish prank call that we all deplore. We take patient confidentiality extremely seriously and we are now reviewing our telephone protocols."

Prince William's office at Clarence House has not commented on the incident.

Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, is still receiving treatment after she was admitted to the hospital Monday with acute morning sickness.

Audio of the call posted online reveals that the nurse divulged details of Kate's condition and care.

"She's sleeping at the moment and she has had an uneventful night, and sleep is good for her," the nurse said. "She's been given some fluids to rehydrate her because she was quite dehydrated when she came in, but she's stable at the moment.''

She also tells DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian, who host the Summer 30 show on 2Day FM, what time William left the previous evening and suggests they visit after 9 a.m. when Catherine will be "freshened up."

"She's quite stable at the moment. She hasn't had any retching with me since I've been on duty, and she has been sleeping on and off," the nurse said. "I think it's difficult sleeping in a strange bed as well."

The incident is bound to raise concerns over security and privacy provisions at the hospital.

Greig, who impersonated the queen, exclaims after the call ends: "She was giving us real information!"

The conversation, in poorly done English accents and with frequent references to "Charles" walking the queen's corgis, her much-loved dogs, should have raised alarm bells with hospital staff.

Greig herself commented on how easy it was to make the prank call.

CNN's David Wilkinson, Damien Ward and Claudia Rebaza contributed to this report.

No comments:

Post a Comment