To be tearing my hair out with colleague?

I understand it was a hectic time for you and it sounds like you're covering a lot at work, but that is not trumped by your colleague's hospital appointment. You still need to learn to respect her boundaries and not expect a reply when she's at work, unless she's actually 'on call' and being paid accordingly. All the more so because she was at a hospital appointment.
There is more to life than work.

@BlueCheesePlease I didn't mean to imply I thought your colleague was young. Just that, attitudes like yours are being dealt with differently by the younger generation.

Normally very on the ball but in the past few days...

Has it really not occurred to you that she is going through something right now, perhaps something quite serious and stressful? You are not coming off here well at all, and you clearly have the empathy of a rock. Fucking hell.

Surely this is a reverse?

Not more urgent than her hospital appointment. You should have left her alone.

FFS!!
do you not think the reason why she's all over the place is because of something to do with the hospital appointment??
Maybe, just maybe, you're being a massive prick by texting her about work when she's off?
Then to top it all, you start a thread to slag her off!!

Well done, OP!

Do you accept that you instigated your own problem and should have left her in peace at a hospital appointment?

See, this is why I kinda admire the blue-haired younglings who don't adhere to the old ridiculous ideas of what an employee should do. Capitalism eats us from the inside out. Poor bugger couldn't even go to a hospital appointment. And you're not even her boss, you're a colleague who's taken it upon themselves to sort the rota.

If she’s at a hospital appointment today and has been a bit preoccupied lately, might there be something worrying her?

You sound unempathetic and tightly wound.

Why are you finalising the rota for next week on a Friday afternoon?
That should have been done days ago.

If your colleague is usually on the ball and this is out of character… especially things like not being able to follow basic instructions… have you considered that there might be something more serious going on?

Hopefully your colleague is fine, but when I had a brain bleed, I was doing all kinds of weird things at work… I could barely string a sentence together for the week leading up to me collapsing at work with a brain haemorrhage and seizure.

I was trying to send an email when my manager insisted on driving me to the nearest train station because I looked so pale and ill. I had no idea I was having a brain haemorrhage.

Why did you leave it until today to find out what she could work next week?

If she's normally on the ball but has been preoccupied, did you ask her if she was okay?

Do you know you shouldn't be texting staff when you know they're at a hospital appointment?

Are you actually her manager, OP?

@Butchyrestingface Spot on. 👏

You start by saying that she is usually 'very on the ball'. She clearly has something on her mind, probably relating to her hospital appointment. Perhaps show some concern for her rather than tearing your hair out.

With respect unless you work for a life or death emergency-type service, it's not that important. As soon as you knew she was at a hospital appointment you should have said 'we'll pick this up later.' As you don't appear to be a workplace that operates over the weekend it would need to wait until Monday.

If at hospital she was understandably focussed on that and not messaging you and probably didn't have diary on front of her. Sound like she's got stuff going on and perhaps that's having a knock on impact at work?

If she's normally on the ball, cut her some slack for not being totally focused at the moment because by your post, it's obviously she has something on her mind at the moment, perhaps health issues or something that she isn't willing to share right now and messaging her when she's at hospital is really poor from you.

No matter how important those dates were for you, it won't be more important than her health for her.

Yup. Mind you, I hope she sees this thread and realises no good deed goes unpunished.

You think you're doing your barrier-free zone manager a favour by texting them back even when you're at a hospital appointment, but lo and behold! you just become the subject of a critical MN thread instead.

Live and learn, @BlueCheesePlease 's minion.

How was that her problem at that moment in time?

Or any time really, assuming she doesn't hire staff?

This was done over text as she was at a hospital appointment at the time but my god it's like pulling teeth.

Where do you stand on texting staff when they're on the labour ward?

She should've left you on read if she was at a hospital appointment.

You should not be contacting a colleague who is attending a hospital appointment.

I wonder if she is really the issue in this story as your judgement based on the above is seriously off...