Do You Want Fries With That?

Keturah Charlesworth Author

What burger joints can teach us about choice and control

Client choice and control often gets confused with 'ask and you shall receive.' 

Some assume it means providers must fulfill every request, even when it falls outside their role, their organisation’s scope, or the participant’s plan. I often hear workers mistakenly cry ‘Choice and Control!’ when asked to provide something outside their scope.

But choice and control doesn’t mean the participant dictates what an organisation is able to provide for them. It does mean they get to choose if it’s the right thing for them or not, to ask about how, when, and by whom services are provided, and they should always be included in decisions made about their care and supports.

However, if what they choose, and what you provide (or can provide safely) don’t align – then it’s not a requirement for you to you oblige. In fact, doing so isn’t just unnecessary—it can be a huge risk. To workers. To the organisation. And, most importantly, to the participant.

I liken participant choice and control to ordering a burger at a fast-food restaurant 

(bear with me, I promise this will all make sense)

Imagine that someone walks into Hungry Jacks, walks up to the counter and asks for a Big Mac…

Now, for those of you not familiar with the most popular brands of burger joints covering the globe: the Big Mac is McDonald’s signature burger, while Hungry Jacks (aka Burger King) is known for the Whopper.

Now, Hungry Jacks doesn’t make a Big Mac – they make Whoppers. So the person behind the counter has some choices to make when asked to make their rivals most popular burger. 

They could:

• Scoff, tell the customer they don’t make Big Macs, and serve the next person
• Tell them what they DO offer and see if they want that instead OR
• Ask them what it is they love about Big Macs… create an option that might just meet some of the customers favourite things and see if they can help create them a meal they’ll love.
• And if all else fails, they could help them find directions to their nearest McDonald’s so they can get exactly what it is they want.

While I would definitely not be condoning the first response, you'll notice there aren’t any options that suggest they should actually make the customer a Big Mac, or drive them to the nearest McDonald’s to get them one.

Because, while they want to keep their customers happy – they work for Hungry Jacks. And that means they have a set menu of items, which can be tailored to someone’s individual tastes, but not completely deviated from.

And this applies to your organisation too!

While participants should have choice and control about the services you provide to them, they should always be in alignment with their NDIS plan and goals, the services you are registered to provide, the qualifications and skills of your workers, and the ability to support their choice safely.

If their request doesn’t align with what you can safely provide, your role isn’t to bend the rules—it’s to support them in finding the right provider who can.

What’s the trickiest situation you’ve faced around supporting participant choice and control? Share in the comments - I’d love to hear how you handled it!

Categories: : Choice and Control, NDIS Compliance, Person-centred services