An Introduction to Community and Primary Health Care

Many health care professionals undertake roles that require them to visit the home of the client or a range of other possible locations, rather than the client coming into the health care service setting. Primary health care nurses usually work alone and often have little control over the environment so their role requires a different approach to risk management. Assessment of risk is necessary to identify any potential harm or risk to safety. This should be considered from both personal and professional perspectives. Although risk is present in all activities of life, the management of risk is essential when providing services that meet the needs of clients while minimising the chance of undesirable incidents. This chapter identifies common safety concerns when providing health care in people’s homes and explains the purpose of risk assessment and the mechanisms through which risk is managed. It also describes measures for reducing risk and discusses proactive behaviour for self-protection.