Unreachable for three hours in theatre. What does your caregiver do if something happens?

umber_pebble_436930 Jul 2026

I'm an anaesthetist, and once a case starts I can't take calls. My partner works in finance and is reachable, but the office is forty minutes from home. Our daughter comes back from preschool on the school transport at 12.30 and the after-school caregiver takes over from there. Last week she had a fall in the building play area, nothing serious, and the caregiver called me eleven times before trying my partner. I came out of theatre to a screen full of missed calls and nearly needed a chair myself. We're now writing a proper plan: who to call in what order, what counts as 'take her to the doctor' versus 'call us', which clinic is nearest. If you've done something like this, what went on yours?

4 comments

jade_wave_308630 Jul 2026
We stuck ours on the fridge and also inside the cupboard by the door, because the fridge one vanished under school notices within a week. Top line in big letters: call me first, my partner's phone is always on silent 🤷
- cedar_camera_678230 Jul 2026
  Same logic at ours, my partner is a doctor so I'm the default number for everything. When our daughter was small the one line we added was for the caregiver's own judgement: crying but still playing, message; not playing, call. Simple enough that she used it :)
jade_pebble_344130 Jul 2026
the eleven calls would have finished me too. we gave ours one rule, call twice then send a message, so the message is the first thing i see when i come out
violet_sandal_113330 Jul 2026
From the other end of these calls in the ER: write down the nearest hospital with a children's emergency, not only the nearest clinic, and keep her basic details with the plan (age, weight, any allergies). In a panic nobody remembers the weight. Hope the bump healed quickly ❤️
moss_paper_78230 Jul 2026
Add the building security number and one neighbour who is usually home. Most small things get sorted before you'd have answered anyway.