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Dealing With People Suffering From Mental Health Disorders

Dealing with people suffering from a mental illness
someone talking to an upset person
© Adobe Stock

Legal and Ethical Considerations

Duty of Care

As a workplace first aider:

  • Duty of care to assist someone at risk
  • If in doubt call for help
  • Remember – priority is safety.

As a member of the public/non-workplace situation:

  • You do not have a duty of care to assist someone at risk
  • Your duty of care starts when you decide to intervene, similar to providing first aid to a casualty.

Source: Safe Work Australia, 2019.

Do we have a moral obligation?

  • You know the identity of someone who has committed a serious crime resulting in a person being badly injured
  • Are you morally obliged to reveal their identity to an appropriate authority so that they are dealt with justly?
  • You pass someone in the street who is in severe need and you are able to help them at little cost.

Implementing Self-Care Practices

Below are some tips on self-care:

  • Do a self-check
  • Reevaluate how you coped with a situation
  • Do you feel comfortable with how you helped someone today?
  • Do you need to reach out to someone?
  • Look for signs or acute stress.

© CQUniversity 2021
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