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Discussion Forums » General Discussion
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what would you do if this what going on in the c
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13 Jun 2013, 23:38
fifty shades.
Post Count: 56
Long story short, one of my co-teachers who works in my room was admitted to a psychiatric ward. She's dealt with mental illness for a while now, on 4 or 5 different prescription medicines, and so on. Obviously she's not at work for the rest of the week or next week. She's being released Monday though. From what I understand, she's coming back to work. I know a handful of other coworkers who think she should not be able to come back because it's a risk to the children.

Thoughts anyone?
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14 Jun 2013, 02:18
lithium layouts.
Post Count: 836
Just out of curiosity - what kind of work is it?

And what kind of mental illness is she dealing with? If it's depression or anxiety, that would be less of a risk to others than, say, schizophrenia, where psychosis and dangerous behaviour can occur.
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14 Jun 2013, 02:19
lithium layouts.
Post Count: 836
Oops, sorry, I just re-read the first sentence! Disregard my first question =) Is it primary school teaching? Young kids?
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14 Jun 2013, 06:09
Betch.
Post Count: 111
As Lithium said, it'd really depend on the type of mental illness and whether or not she admitted herself.
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14 Jun 2013, 10:00
fifty shades.
Post Count: 56
she has depression, anxiety, ptsd, she's aggressive when things set her off, and i think she has a couple other things. we work in a preschool/daycare facility. she did not admit herself either. she was taken to the hospital after taking 13 klonopins and the hospital released her after 5 or 6 hours. in the middle of the night she tried to commit suicide again. her third attempt the next day was when 911 was called and the police officer brought her to a psychiatric unit.
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15 Jun 2013, 06:30
~Aiure
Post Count: 118
I don't think she should be allowed back to work until she's more stable. It seems like she needs to take medical leave and get herself sorted out. An unstable teacher can be very damaging to the children, and they shouldn't be placed in a such a volatile environment. Can you send a recommendation and petition to your superiors?
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16 Jun 2013, 19:56
fifty shades.
Post Count: 56
I totally agree with you. I think a petition/recommendation is a good way to go around it.
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18 Jun 2013, 21:55
Estella
Post Count: 1779
Does she not have to be cleared by Occupational Health first, who will assess her fitness to work? In the UK, that's what would happen - gosh, even if you're just off sick with a tummy bug for a few days, you still have to have a 'return to work' interview to make sure you're okay to return. And if you're off for something serious, you'd have to go through Occupational Health. You don't just randomly return because you've been let out of hospital. Could it be that this woman has been cleared by Occupational Health, but because this is obviously confidential then the management have not informed all the staff about it? You must have safeguarding policies. Check out your policies and procedures and see what they say.
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18 Jun 2013, 22:04
Estella
Post Count: 1779
Also, if it were me, and if I wasn't sure of the policies, I might mention it to my line manager, in terms of concern - just casually ask how the teacher is doing, whether and when she's coming back, if she's well enough to come back. Even say that you're concerned both for the children and for the teacher, with regard to her stability and the impact that may have. You probably wouldn't be told a lot, since it's confidential, but you'd likely be told enough to realise if there is a process by which she is assessed to be ready to return to work. I wouldn't do a petition unless I'd talked to a management person myself first - there's bound to be gossip among staff, but the management will have access to inside information that the other staff don't know. If you petition without checking, you might end up petitioning against something that is not what you thought it was.
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