Work-related violence, aggression and harassment are psychosocial hazards that risk physical and psychological harm. This section deals with behaviour from patients, consumers, clients, residents, family members and the public, while behaviour between workers sits in the psychosocial section. Workers often deal with injured, unwell, distressed or confused people, including those with mental illness or dementia, and some behaviour may be driven by clinical condition, but workers should never be harmed. The PCBU must do everything reasonably possible to protect workers, and where elimination is not possible, for example a patient with a psychiatric condition who needs treatment, must still minimise risk through effective medical management, specialised ward placement, enough staff with the right skill mix, de-escalation training, code black arrangements and, where required, restrictive practices such as seclusion when risk cannot otherwise be managed. Start with a risk assessment considering whether work involves direct dealing with people, likelihood (medical conditions, history of violence, drugs or alcohol) and facilities (a safe place to go, light and noise that may agitate). Control the underlying causes as well as the behaviour: families may react to long waits without information, perceived unfairness or fear that their relative is not getting care, and patients to changes in routine, staffing changes, not feeling heard, frustration, lack of choice, medication or substance withdrawal, and restrictive practices. Behaviour may not be intentional but the risk must still be managed. Controls should suit the setting, since behaviours linked to intellectual disability differ from those linked to dementia. The person may be warned, issued a barring notice limiting when they can attend or banned.
The graph holds this control, the 0 it maps to, and the evidence behind each claim, over MCP and REST.