“Better Safe Than Sorry” Can Be the Wrong Approach in Social Care
“Better safe than sorry” might sound like good advice — but in social care, it can quietly strip people of independence, dignity, and control over their own lives.
Positive risk-taking challenges that mindset. It recognises that avoiding risk entirely often leads to greater harm — such as loneliness, institutionalisation, or loss of purpose.
🧭 Why Avoiding Risk Can Be Harmful
Well-meaning staff may default to safety-first decisions: stopping a person from going out, refusing to allow choice in food or friends, or discouraging activities that feel unpredictable. But over time, these decisions can result in:
- 🔹 Reduced confidence and mental wellbeing
- 🔹 Learned helplessness or dependency
- 🔹 Isolation, frustration, and reduced quality of life
Commissioners and inspectors increasingly look for services that support freedom, not just protection.
🛠 Building a Culture of Confidence
To shift from fear-driven decision-making to person-centred risk support, you need:
- ✅ Strong leadership that backs well-documented, thoughtful decisions
- ✅ Staff training on rights-based care and proportional risk
- ✅ Open dialogue across the team on what “safe enough” looks like
Supervision is a key tool for this — it creates a space to talk about concerns without fear of blame.
🔐 From Protective to Empowering
It’s time to stop treating risk as a dirty word. When positive risk-taking is built into your service values, policies, and daily practice, you stop defaulting to “no” — and start asking, “how can we support this safely?”
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Chat on WhatsApp or email Mike.Harrison@impact-guru.co.uk
Updated for Procurement Act 2023 • CQC-aligned • BASE-aligned (where relevant)