Doing what is reasonable to avoid injury
In looking for ways to adjust activities or situations when necessary to minimise foreseeable harm, consider:
placing the least restriction on client’s rights
compromising the rights of as few people as possible.
For example, if you have a client who is violent, you may need to curtail their access to certain areas of a group home without supervision, but that shouldn’t mean other residents should have their access restricted.
Supporting people to confront risks safely
To help balance foreseeable harm with benefits of an activity or situation, aim to empower clients to take control over and responsibility for the situations, including the risks, with which they are confronted.
For example, if a client wants to move out of home and he requires support for daily living, encourage them to identify the potential risks and develop strategies to overcome them.
Safeguarding others from injury
Remember that in your assessment of potential harm occurring duty of care does extend to other consumers and members of the public.
For example, if you take a client who has challenging behaviours on an outing to the city, you must take precautions, with adequate supervision to ensure that no member of the public is harmed in any way.