Doctors don't understand how difficult it is for me to see them.

[YourSparklyLimeTraybake]

I work in leadership in a school. My direct boss is off sick long term and I am acting up. The next person in the line of succession is also not well and in and out sporadically. There isn't anyone else that can step in to cover, even if it's just for a short period of time. My school is very challenging.

I am incredibly stressed, working 7am til 7pm most days just to keep afloat. They don't take online bookings unless you're a Uni student, I am on duty at break and lunchtime, so can't call during the day.

I need a blood test and it's overdue. They now won't prescribe one of my medications until I get tested and then a separate appointment to be reviewed. I've tried to arrange both three times, and each time something has happened so I can't go, which means the second review appointment gets cancelled too, then I have to try to figure out how to find time to make the appointments again.

I don't know what else I can do and now I've run out of medication.

You make time. Simple as that. While I appreciate you’re busy ultimately your health comes first. You’re choosing to put your job before it

If you got run over by a bus tomorrow they'd manage without you. I used to be like you then ended up off sick and everything still got done. Maybe you'll have to take a day to get sorted. You are the priority not work.

Your school can cope without you, they would have to if you were hit by a bus on the way to work. It's easy to feel this sort of pressure when you in a role like yours but it is self inflicted. The school can manage without you for the time it takes you to go for a bloodtest. This sort of behaviour is what leads to burn out.

If you need a medical appointment - you go at the time of the appointment. No one is indispensable at work. The place will not collapse if you aren’t there for a few hours. If you get ill, the school will still operate in your absence.

I've tried to arrange both three times, and each time something has happened so I can't go

That doesn't sound like the doctor's fault and they can't prescribe you medication that might be damaging you. As a pp said, you need to make time.

First post nails it. The GP can’t fit around you (especially if you’re working 7-7). You can’t keep missing appointments and then getting annoyed you have no medication. Prioritise your health.

With the greatest respect, you just need to book it and go. The schools staffing issue isn't your problem. This isn't the same as you doing your own job and inconveniencing your manager by booking them in work time, this is the fact your health is being impacted because you're doing your job, your superiors job, and holding it together for everyone else. At some point you have to say enough is enough, it's too much for one person and you're taking time off for a blood test.

You just need to book and go, others are taking time off for illness and so can you, the school will not fall down in a couple of hours, so go get your blood test. If you dropped dead tomorrow it would keep running.

Make time to make the phone call, and then go a blood test is what 3 minutes at best? 10 minute appointment? Can’t you nip out to the doctors and go back afterwards? Prioritise yourself because your job wont.

If your role is so vital (spoiler it isn’t, if you can’t do it the LEA or academy will bring in SLT from another school) then it’s even more important you prioritise your health.

If you’ve run out of medication you need, can you contact 111 and ask for a referral to an out-of-hours GP who provides non-registered appointments, or for bloodwork at an urgent treatment centre? My local hospital has a walk-in bloods clinic at certain times: you still have to make yourself available and go and wait. Your work is obviously a challenge here, but if you’ve made and needed to cancel several appointments, your GP can’t really help with that.

I agree

'Something has happened' sounds like OP has cancelled 3 times?

If that is the case then the GP have made themselves available to you for 6 appointments and you have cancelled or not shown up each time?

This is very much a you problem if so, and you are choosing the wrong priorities, maybe for the right kind reasons but you need to rethink.

You've cancelled 3 appointments?! I'd be interested to know why your job is more important than the time of the NHS staff.

However much work you have to do and however challenging your school is, it will not fall apart from you not being there for an hour. What do you think would happen if you had to go to hospital for some reason? The other staff would cope.

I’m not sure what you are expecting anyone to say? If the drug is licensed on the basis of blood tests then they are not going to prescribe it without one (no matter how busy you are). If you need the medication you will have to make time for the test. That’s life. As other people have said - if you were incapacitated, they would cope without you so don’t worry about that.

I understand the difficulty @YourSparklyLimeTraybake

People don't understand that the school can't legally be open without a head/deputy/acting head. And you cannot send 100s of children home because you need a GP appointment.

How heavy is your teaching schedule? Would you be able to block out a morning to do a phone appointment? Check if the school subscribes to any wellbeing service, most do (but no-one uses them). They sometimes have a GP service. Register with Livy or one of these online GPS that can do a Saturday. For the blood test, some walk in blood test centers start at 7am. Could someone open the school and you'd be in before the children, just not first in. Or book now for the first appointment possible in the Christmas holidays.

Don't know if any of those would work, but some ideas if you haven't already tried them.

Is it you that keeps cancelling the appointments? If so then it's not their fault. Your health is your responsibility alone.

Plenty of people work in school leadership but the doctor isn't exactly going to give a home visit out of hours to everyone who does?

Tell your employer you're going to the doctors for an essential test. If you think they'll try and guilt trip you just call in sick on the day of the appointment without giving notice.

If you don't and you get really unwell then they might have to manage without you for months.

The GP surgery should be able to give you a blood form so that you can go to hospital phlebotomy clinic to have it done which is more flexible as you just turn up, take a number and wait. But you will still have to make the effort to attend, and arrange and attend the follow up appointment.

I appreciate it sounds reallly challenging and probably never feels like ‘the right time’ with so much pressure and responsibility at work. However your health really does have to come first. As others have said, if push came to shove the school would operate in your absence. And that’s without notice. Whereas here you can even given them notice. Get next available appts booked in and no matter what just stick to it!

Okay. Thanks everyone.

I don't think my job is more important, and I have properly cancelled, not just left them waiting. Twice for behavioural incidents, once for a safeguarding disclosure. All three times, the next in line was also absent.

Thanks @Yesimmoaningaboutbenefits some really useful advice there. We do have a wellbeing advice line I could call, so I'll try that. I think I'll book for the holidays, although that means I'm without medication for two and a half weeks.

If the school is so short staffed, the OP would need to notify the Governors that she would be leaving the school on x date at x time (am a former school governor).

We are talking about a member of SLT being offsite for a brief medical appointment, not undergoing surgery under GA. If the school cannotbe open without this singular member of staff on site then they need to look at their contingency plans as a matter of urgency. If the OP were caught up in a traffic collision one day i doubt the school wouldn't open, arrangements would be made as they always are. Validating this sort of pressure on an indicvidual is not helpful

Can’t you arrange your face to face appointments during school holidays if necessary? I always appreciate it is difficult for teachers to attend appointments during term time, so try and arrange their routine monitoring and med reviews for when they’re off, then at least a telephone appointment after 4/5pm. Unfortunately bloods need to be done in the morning though, so they can get to the lab, but most surgeries should have one regular early morning with a few 7:00-8:00am bloods appointments.

Why wait - make the appointment and attend it. If you got taken into hospital, the school would continue to operate.

I assume you have a DDSL so safeguarding shouldn't be a barrier. It seems that the doctors appt is just throwing into sharp relief the lack of contingency in place and that isn't good for anyone. Are there any local heads you could buddy up with to provide support either formally or informmaly?