Who should go to work tomorrow?

[NotSureICanDoIt]

Today was my first day at a new job - one I am very lucky to have. I probably wouldn’t find another one as good again. Not going in tomorrow will look very, very bad and potentially jeopardise my job.
DP is a GP and has a 30 patient clinic tomorrow.

DD3 is ill. Some sort of virus, fever, headache, sore throat, no appetite. There’s no way she’ll be well enough for nursery tomorrow.

DP thinks I should stay home with her and I think he should. Up until this point I’ve been a SAHM so things like this weren’t an issue. He has never ever had to cancel work before.

Who gets to go to work tomorrow?

Goodness. I am a GP, you should go to work. It's only day 2! Yes the loss of money is annoying but I'm sure if he contacted the surgery - asap another locum would be able to cover at short notice. Very unlikely that any patients would be let down. His clinic probably isn't even booked yet.

I’m afraid if I was OP I’d be prioritising my own work over a bunch of randoms

You

Why don't you sort it out with your husband by talking to him and use the time to care for your sick child instead of asking random strangers.

My brother is a gp and he very much worries about his patients if he has to be off one day (the ill ones). It's quite cold to say it's "not his problem" - I hope that is your take and not his.

Dose her up and send her to nursery ffs. You can’t expect him to cancel on 30 people who have waited months for GP appointments and he can’t expect you to lose out during your probation period.

The kids of health professionals are allowed to be sick and their parents are allowed to care for them.

As a patient don't register with a small GP practice, there is so much wrong with one or two doctor practices anyway.

You cannot expect another gp to pick up a 30 patient clinic.

that’s people’s health, for gods sake. The child will be fine with some calpol and a slower day at nursery.

100% you, lovely. One day off work for him to look after your child compared to missing out on your first day and potentially making your new employer think you’ve got cold feet is much better in the long run.

Others?

Who are the other people?!

Many people parent without a village. If you have other people you can call on to babysit your child at short notice, then you do have a village.

In being unable to fathom the former then you have just proven my point…

It’s honestly not that hard to believe. You think OP would just let her DH miss out on his daily fee if they had someone?
Lots of people don’t have anyone to help with childcare.

I
sure he’d sort one out if he thought it was needed. I think he is legally allowed to look after his own child all day if he doesn’t get the script oad out, though.

Muppet

Just fyi imdunfer. My poor friends poor GP mum was on the scene by chance when she got run over. She didn’t wait for the ambulance.

I’m also a copywriter. As a PP said, our jobs are being decimated by AI and you need to do everything you can to keep this one. If it’s one or the other, you should 100% be the one to go to work.

However, given that it’s your first week, is there anything at all you could do from home tomorrow morning? My first week in new jobs usually involves a lot of reading of policies and procedures. If you tell them your kid is sick and you need the morning to arrange cover for the rest of the week (and offer to do some work from home), that’s very different to saying she’s sick and you don’t know when you’ll be back.

That way, your partner can go into work in the morning and perhaps swap afternoon patients with his colleagues so he can do phone appointments from home.

BTW - I and three of my colleagues had the same symptoms as your daughter earlier this month. It turned out to be Covid. I managed to work for one week, slept and ate soup for the second, now back at work and 95% recovered.

Hope she feels better soon

That is, in fact, what almost every working parent I know does. Amazing, I know.

His backup was you, now he needs to broaden it. If he’s not sure how tell him to ask the female doctors with children he knows.

Tell him to ask who now?!

Have I been teleported back to the 1950s?!

Really, both of you should be at work. It would be deeply unimpressive for either of you to take the day off, tbh. It may be hindsight, but did it never occur to you to build in some back up to care for an unwell child?

you/H can’t just stay at home every single time!!

Erm, yes? Yes they can? Many, many parents have no other choice.

Not what you asked, but I'd be worried that one or both of you may have whatever your child has and risk spreading it further—particularly your husband who will be seeing 30 patients, some of whom probably wouldn't want to risk a nasty virus, if they're already ill with something else.

Cancel the cheque….

if you can’t read the whole thread, just a couple of posts explaining that these magical backup options are a wee bit out of reach for some would do

Emergency nanny?

Sorry 500£ a day ?

I imagine all his appointments will be cancelled. I have a long awaited GP appointment for my ten year old tomorrow. I have had to take annual leave as it’s in the middle of the day and I would need to leave my work, drive to his school pick him up and it’s too much to do in a lunch hour. If it was cancelled it would cause me the biggest headache.

I appreciate your quandary but 30 people will be affected and be sorting childcare, annual leave taxis, buses, worrying about appointments, hoping to get answers.

If I was your new employer I’d tell you to take the day off and let’s pick things up again on Wednesday. I would call them and explain.

Covid is just a heavy cold. The kid can have some calpol and will be running about by 10!