Health care sector trends

Trends in lost-time injuries, fatalities, critical injuries, complaints and work refusals in the health care and community care sector.

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Overview of injury data

According to data from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), the lost-time injury (LTI) rate in the health care sector was 1.36 per 100 workers in 2018.

Table 1 below shows the number of LTIs, no lost-time injuries (NLTIs) and the LTI frequency rate for Ontario's health care sector from 2014-2018.

Table 1: Ontario health care injury statistics
Statistics	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Total number of LTIs	6,596	6,511	6,959	7,117	9,890
LTI frequency rate	1.34	1.28	1.36	1.39	1.50
Total number of NLTIs	14,680	14,185	14,357	14,967	15,647

Source:Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) Enterprise Information Warehouse (EIW) Claim Cost Analysis Schema and Firm Expense Schema, May 2019 data snapshot for all years, courtesy of Public Services Health and Safety Association (PSHSA).

The number of workers in the health care sector is generally increasing. Table 2 contains data from Statistics Canada that shows that the labour force in the healthcare and social assistance sector is increasing.

Table 2: Ontario labour force - health care and social assistance sector
Year	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Workforce estimates	816,300	828,600	855,300	881,500	866,600

Source: Statistics Canada. Table 14-10-0023-01 - Labour force characteristics by industry, North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) by sex and age group (Accessed: October 17, 2019).

Table 3 shows how the LTI counts have changed for the most common occupational health and safety hazards in the health care sector from 2014-2018. The proportion of each injury type is shown as a percentage for the 2018 injury count.

Table 3: Health care Schedule 1 allowed LTI counts by injury type
Injury type	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Musculoskeletal disorders: other	1,436	1,369	1,512	1,682	1,815 (23%)
Falls	1,264	1,103	1,194	1,264	1,435 (18%)
Musculoskeletal disorders: client handling	1,160	1,124	1,196	1,178	1,375 (17%)
Exposures	1,044	1,079	1,039	871	589 (7%)
Workplace violence	684	765	821	860	1,006 (13%)
Contact with/struck by object	613	645	673	744	773 (10%)
Others (Not coded, fire, explosion, transportation)	162	227	349	255	585 (8%)
Motor vehicle incidents	149	136	129	1,151	182 (2%)
Machinery	84	63	46	72	77 (1%)
Transportation	12	16	11	27	18 (0.23%)
Fire, explosion	1	2	3	5	7 (0.08%)

Source: WSIB (EIW) Claim Cost Analysis Schema, rolling June 2014 to 2018 data snapshots, courtesy of Public Services Health and Safety Association (PSHSA).

Health and community care services are provided in a variety of complex settings. Seven settings are covered by The Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development Health Care Health and Safety Program:

long-term care homes (homes for nursing care)
retirement homes (homes for residential care)
hospitals
nursing services
supported group living residences and other facilities (group homes)
treatment clinics and specialized services
professional offices and agencies

Table 4 below shows how the LTI counts and LTI frequency rate have changed for all of the health care settings (rate groups) from 2014-2018.

(2.17)

Table 4: LTI counts and LTI frequency by health care setting (rate group)
Rate group	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Long-term care homes	1,728 (2.28)	1,760 (2.25)	1,826 (2.32)	1,774 (2.31)	1,700
Retirement homes	305 (2.02)	320 (2.01)	292 (1.87)	334 (2.15)	298 (1.74)
Hospitals	2,172 (1.04)	2,073 (0.98)	2,164 (1.02)	2,095 (0.96)	2,531 (1.55)
Nursing services	970 (1.86)	821 (1.53)	1,020 (1.8)	1,113 (1.83)	1,275 (2.1)
Supported group residences and other facilities	549 (2.92)	530 (2.74)	600 (3.07)	629 (3.2)	722 (3.57)
Treatment clinics and specialized services	655 (0.86)	781 (0.94)	843 (1.01)	893 (1.11)	1,086 (1.43)
Professional offices and agencies	217 (0.47)	226 (0.47)	214 (0.46)	279 (0.54)	260 (0.51)

Source: WSIB Enterprise Information Warehouse EIW Claim Cost Analysis Schema, May 2019 data snapshot, courtesy of Public Services Health and Safety Association (PSHSA)

Long-term care homes

Table 5 shows how the number of LTIs, NLTIs and the LTI frequency rate have changed for long-term care homes from 2014-2018.

Table 5: Long-term care homes injury statistics
Statistics	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Total number of LTIs	1,728	1,760	1,826	1,774	1,700
LTI frequency rate	2.28	2.25	2.32	2.31	2.17
Total number of NLTIs	3,730	3,811	3,936	4,089	4,129

Table 6 shows the most common occupational health and safety hazards for long-term care homes in 2018 and the percentage of LTIs for each.

Table 6: LTIs by hazards for long-term care homes, 201 8
Hazard	Number of LTIs	Percentage of total LTIs
Musculoskeletal disorders: client handling	370	21.8%
Musculoskeletal disorders: other	347	20.4%
Falls	251	14.8%
Exposures	224	13.2%
Not Coded	188	11.1%
Workplace violence	183	10.8%
Contact with/Struck by object	127	7.5%
Machinery	9	0.5%
Motor vehicle incidents(MVI)	1	0.1%
Total	1700	100% ^{footnote 1[1]}

Retirement homes

Table 7 shows how the number of LTIs, NLTIs and the LTI frequency rate have changed for retirement homes from 2014- 2018.

Table 7: Retirement homes injury statistic
Statistics	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Total number of LTIs	305	320	292	334	289
LTI frequency rate	2.02	2.01	1.87	2.15	1.74
Total number of NLTIs	381	393	441	490	541

Source: EIW Claim Cost Analysis Schema for all years - snapshot May 2019, courtesy of Public Services Health and Safety Association (PSHSA).

Table 8 shows the most common occupational health and safety hazards for retirement homes (homes for residential care) in 2018 and the percentage of LTIs for each.

Table 8: LTIs by hazard for retirement homes, 2018
Hazards	Number of LTIs	Percentage of total LTIs
Exposures	117	37%
Musculoskeletal disorders: other	59	19%
Musculoskeletal disorders: client handling	51	16%
Falls	45	14%
Contact with/Struck by object	22	7%
Machinery	8	3%
Not classified	7	2%
Workplace violence	5	2%
Other (MVI, fires & explosions)	3	1%
Total	317	100% ^{footnote 1[1]}

Source:WSIB Enterprise Information Warehouse (EIW) Claim Cost Analysis Schema, May 2019 data snapshot for all years, courtesy of Public Services Health and Safety Association (PSHSA).

Hospitals

Table 9 shows how the number of LTIs, NLTIs and the LTI frequency rate have changed for hospitals from 2014-2018.

Table 9: Hospitals injury statistics
Statistics	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Total number of LTIs	2,172	2,073	2,164	2,095	2,531
LTI frequency rate	1.04	0.98	1.02	0.96	1.55
Total number of NLTIs	6,142	5,762	5,331	5,664	6,055

Source:WSIB Enterprise Information Warehouse (EIW) Claim Cost Analysis Schema, May 2019 data snapshot, courtesy of Public Services Health and Safety Association (PSHSA).

Table 10 shows the most common occupational health and safety hazards for hospitals in 2018, and the percentage of LTIs for each.

Table 10: LTIs by hazards for hospitals, 2018
Hazards	Number of LTIs	Percentage of total LTIs
Musculoskeletal disorders: other	599	23.7%
Musculoskeletal disorders: client handling	496	19.6%
Falls	355	14.0%
Workplace violence	355	14.0%
Contact with/Struck by object	262	10.4%
Exposures	214	8.5%
Not coded	190	7.5%
Machinery	40	1.6%
Motor vehicle incidents (MVI)	15	0.6%
Fires and explosions	4	0.2%
Transportation	1	0.0%
Total	2,531	100% ^{footnote 1[1]}

Source:WSIB Enterprise Information Warehouse (EIW) Claim Cost Analysis Schema, May 2019 data snapshot, courtesy of Public Services Health and Safety Association (PSHSA).

Nursing services

Table 11 shows how the number of LTIs, NLTIs and the LTI frequency rate have changed for nursing services from 2014- 2018.

Table 11: Nursing services injury statistics
Statistics	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Total number of LTIs	970	821	1,020	1,113	1,275
LTI frequency rate	1.86	1.53	1.8	1.83	2.1
Total number of NLTIs	1,864	1,863	2,050	2,209	2,245

Source: WSIB Enterprise Information Warehouse (EIW) Claim Cost Analysis Schema, May 2019 data snapshot for all years, courtesy of Public Services Health and Safety Association (PSHSA)

Table 12 shows the most common occupational health and safety hazards for nursing services in 2018 and the percentage of LTIs for each.

Table 12: LTIs by hazards for nursing services, 2018
Hazards	Number of LTIs	Percentage of total LTIs
Musculoskeletal disorders: client handling	341	26.7%
Musculoskeletal disorders: other	296	23.2%
Falls	282	22.1%
Motor vehicle incidents	99	7.8%
Workplace violence	80	6.3%
Contact with/Struck by object	78	6.1%
Not coded	61	4.8%
Exposures	28	2.2%
Transportation	6	0.5%
machinery	4	0.3%
Total	1,275	100% ^{footnote 1[1]}

Source: WSIB Enterprise Information Warehouse (EIW) Claim Cost Analysis Schema, May 2019 data snapshot for all years, courtesy of Public Services Health and Safety Association (PSHSA).

Supported group living residences and other facilities (group homes)

Table 13 shows how the number of LTIs, NLTIs and the LTI frequency rate have changed for supported group living residences and other facilities from 2014-2018.

Table 13: Supported group living residences and other facilities injury statistics
Statistics	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Total number of LTIs	549	530	600	629	722
LTI frequency rate	2.92	2.74	3.07	3.2	3.57
Total number of NLTIs	913	780	870	905	872

Source: WSIB Enterprise Information Warehouse (EIW) Claim Cost Analysis Schema, May 2019 data snapshot for all years, courtesy of Public Services Health and Safety Association (PSHSA).

Table 14 shows the most common occupational health and safety hazards for supported group living residences and other facilities (group homes) in 2018 and the percentage of LTIs for each .

Table 14: LTIs by hazards for supported group living residences and other facilities, 2018
Hazards	Number of LTIs	Percentage of total LTIs
Workplace violence	220	30.5%
Musculoskeletal disorders: other	134	18.6%
Falls	123	17.0%
Contact with/Struck by object	85	11.8%
Musculoskeletal disorders: client handling	60	8.3%
Not coded	50	6.9%
Exposures	25	3.5%
Motor vehicle incidents	15	2.1%
Machinery	8	1.1%
Transportation	2	0.3%
Total	722	100% ^{footnote 1[1]}

Source: WSIB Enterprise Information Warehouse (EIW) Claim Cost Analysis Schema, May 2019 data snapshot for all years, courtesy of Public Services Health and Safety Association (PSHSA).

Treatment clinics and specialized services

Table 15 shows how the number of LTIs, NLTIs and the LTI frequency rate have changed for treatment clinics and specialized services from 2014-2018.

Table 15: Treatment clinics and specialized services injury statistics
Statistics	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Total number of LTIs	655	781	843	893	1,086
LTI frequency rate	0.86	0.94	1.01	1.11	1.43
Total number of NLTIs	1,151	1,115	1,267	1,146	1,264

Source: WSIB Enterprise Information Warehouse (EIW) Claim Cost Analysis Schema, May 2019 data snapshot for all years, courtesy of Public Services Health and Safety Association (PSHSA).

Table 16 show the most common occupational health and safety hazards for treatment clinics and specialized services in 2018 and the percentage of LTIs for each.

Table 16: LTIs by hazard for treatment clinics and specialized services, 2018
Hazards	Number of LTIs	Percentage of total LTIs
Musculoskeletal disorders: other	290	26.7%
Falls	290	26.7%
Contact with/Struck by object	164	15.1%
Workplace violence	143	13.2%
Not coded	55	5.1%
Exposures	36	3.3%
Musculoskeletal disorders: client handling	27	2.5%
Motor vehicle incidents	9	0.8%
Machinery	6	0.6%
Transportation	2	0.2%
Total	1,086	100% ^{footnote 1[1]}

Source: WSIB Enterprise Information Warehouse (EIW) Claim Cost Analysis Schema, May 2019 data snapshot, courtesy of Public Services Health and Safety Association (PSHSA).

Professional offices and agencies

Table 17 shows how the number of LTIs, NLTIs and the LTI frequency rate have changed for professional offices and agencies from 2014- 2018.

Table 17: Professional offices and agencies injury statistics
Statistics	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Total number of LTIs	217	226	214	279	260
LTI frequency rate	0.47	0.47	0.46	0.54	0.51
Total number of NLTIs	503	455	467	461	541

Source: EIW Claim Cost Analysis Schema for all years - snapshot May 2019, courtesy of Public Services Health and Safety Association (PSHSA).

Table 18 shows the most common occupational health and safety hazards for professional offices and agencies in 2018 and the percentage of LTIs for each.

Table 18: LTIs by hazard for professional offices and agencies, 2018
Hazards	Number of LTIs	Percentage of total LTIs
Musculoskeletal disorders: other	67	25.8%
Contact with/Struck by object	31	11.9%
Falls	72	27.7%
Motor vehicle incidents	25	9.6%
Not coded	18	6.9%
Exposures	16	6.2%
Workplace violence	13	5.0%
Musculoskeletal disorders: client handling	11	4.2%
Transportation	3	1.2%
Machinery	4	1.5%
Total	260	100% ^{footnote 1[1]}

Source: WSIB Enterprise Information Warehouse (EIW) Claim Cost Analysis Schema, May 2019 data snapshot, courtesy of Public Services Health and Safety Association (PSHSA).

Occupational health and safety events and injuries

Occupational health and safety events and injuries reported to The Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development are summarized in Table 19.

Table 19: Health care sector events and injuries
Events and injuries	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19
Complaints	594	634	735	839	899
Work refusals	6	8	5	6	13
Fatalities	0	0	0	0	0
Critical injuries	124	85	128	212	288

Statistical notes

Only critical injury events reported to the ministry are included for each sector.
This represents data that were reported to the ministry and may not represent what actually occurred at the workplace.
Some events may not have been classified under a specific subsector at the time data was downloaded for this report.
The critical injury numbers represent critical injuries reported to the ministry and not necessarily critical injuries as defined by Regulation 834 under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA).
Non-workers who are critically injured may also be included in the ministry's data.
The Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development tracks and reports fatalities at workplaces covered by the OHSA. This excludes deaths from natural causes, deaths of non-workers at a workplace, suicides, deaths as a result of a criminal act or traffic accident (unless the OHSA is also implicated) and deaths from occupational exposures that occurred many years ago.
Data subject to change because of inspectors' updates to the database.

Updated: August 16, 2022

Published: April 15, 2019

Footnotes

footnote[1] Back to paragraph Percentage in column may not add up to 100 % due to rounding of data.