Health care sector trends
Learn about trends in lost-time injuries (LTIs), frequency of injuries and summary of critical injuries, complaints and work refusals in the health care and community care sector.
Overview of injury data
Lost-time injuries are injuries that occur in the workplace that result in the worker having to miss work.
According to data from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), the lost-time injury (LTI) rate in the health care sector was 2.46 workers, per 100 workers in 2023.
The number of allowed claims during 2023 decreased considerably and this reflects the reduction in the number of claims made in the sector related to COVID-19 occupational illnesses.
Table 1 shows the number of LTIs, the LTI frequency rate, and the number of no lost-time injuries (NLTIs) for Ontario’s health care sector from 2019–2023.
| Statistics | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total number of LTIs | 8,409 | 15,138 | 15,670 | 24,832 | 14,650 |
| LTI frequency rate | 1.55 | 3.87 | 3.59 | 4.43 | 2.46 |
| Total number of NLTIs | 15,909 | 12,644 | 12,374 | 11,201 | 12,064 |
Source:Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) Enterprise Information Warehouse (EIW) Employer Experience Schema and Claim Cost Analysis Schema, June 2021 data snapshot for 2019 and 2020 and June 2024 data snapshot for 2021 to 2023, 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 health care and social assistance sector is increasing.
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Workforce estimates | 905,300 | 891,100 | 920,200 | 949,500 | 985,600 |
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: May 3, 2024).
Table 3 shows how the LTI counts have changed for the most common occupational health and safety hazards in the health care sector from 2019–2023.
| Injury type | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exposures | 1,157 | 8,656 | 7,708 | 16,325 | 5,292 |
| Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD): other | 1,700 | 1,437 | 1,841 | 1,842 | 1,873 |
| Musculoskeletal disorders(MSD): client handling | 1,315 | 1,432 | 1,729 | 1,860 | 1,737 |
| Falls | 1,642 | 1,280 | 1,454 | 1,763 | 1,563 |
| Workplace violence | 1,196 | 993 | 1,196 | 1,301 | 1,563 |
| Contact with/struck by object | 836 | 704 | 951 | 1,004 | 1,001 |
| Motor vehicle incidents (MVI) | 172 | 91 | 107 | 135 | 151 |
| Machinery | 71 | 66 | 96 | 114 | 109 |
| Transportation | 26 | 16 | 21 | 26 | 17 |
| Fires and explosions | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Not coded | 292 | 320 | 567 | 460 | 1,342 |
Source: WSIB EIW Claim Cost Analysis Schema, rolling June 2019 and 2020 data snapshots for 2019 and 2020 and June 2024 data snapshot for 2021 to 2023, courtesy of Public Services Health and Safety Association (PSHSA).
From the data shown it is clear that “exposures” has seen the most dramatic decrease in the past two years (2022 and 2023) which reflects the COVID-19 pandemic recovery and the decrease in exposure to COVID-19 and related occupational illness claims.
Health care 2023 statistical breakdown
Health and community care services are provided in a variety of settings. The health care sector is comprised of establishments that provide the following services:
- health care by diagnosis and treatment
- residential care for medical and social reasons
- social assistance, such as counselling and other community care services
The data presented below is based on the new WSIB updated classification structure using a North American Industry Classification System (NAICs) framework, which came into effect January 2020. The following data below aligns with this new classification NAICs mapping.
- D3: Hospitals
- N1: Ambulatory Care - includes workplaces in the following sectors:
- Home health care services
- Professional health care offices and agencies
- Diagnostic laboratories
- N2: Nursing and Residential Care Facilities includes workplaces in the following sectors:
- Nursing care facilities (Long-term care homes)
- Community care facilities for elderly (retirement homes)
- Supported group living residences and other facilities (group homes)
- N3: Social Assistance includes workplaces in the following sectors:
- Services for elderly and persons with disabilities
- Vocational rehabilitation
Table 4 shows WSIB lost-time injury counts based on allowed claims in 2023 for each of the divisions which make up the health and social assistance sectors.
| Injury type | D3 Hospitals | N1 Ambulatory care | N2 Nursing/ Residential care | N3 Social Assistance | Sector total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exposures | 804 | 336 | 3,931 | 221 | 5,292 |
| Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD): other | 662 | 377 | 559 | 275 | 1,873 |
| Musculoskeletaldisorders (MSD): client handling | 703 | 331 | 674 | 29 | 1,737 |
| Falls | 393 | 342 | 495 | 333 | 1,563 |
| Workplace violence | 564 | 142 | 578 | 279 | 1,563 |
| Contact with/struck by object | 390 | 115 | 321 | 175 | 1,001 |
| Motor vehicle incidents (MVI) | 6 | 87 | 15 | 43 | 151 |
| Machinery | 66 | 8 | 27 | 8 | 109 |
| Transportation | 4 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 17 |
| Fires and explosions | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Not coded | 442 | 195 | 588 | 117 | 1,342 |
Source: WSIB EIW Claim Cost Analysis Schema, June 2024 data snapshot, courtesy of Public Services Health and Safety Association (PSHSA).
Table 5 shows the lost-time injury (LTI) frequency rate for the health and social assistance sector based on the WSIB data for allowed claims.
| Sector | LTI Frequency 2023 |
|---|---|
| HC: Health Care | 2.46 |
| D3: Hospitals | 1.61 |
| N1: Ambulatory Health Care | 1.22 |
| N2: Nursing and Residential Facilities | 3.88 |
| N3: Social Assistance | 1.56 |
Source: WSIB EIW Employer Experience Schema and Claim Cost Analysis Schema, June 2024 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, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD) are summarized in Table 6.
| Occupational health and safety events and injuries | 2019–20 | 2020–21 | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Complaints | 1,014 | 1,590 | 1,114 | 800 | 827 |
| Work refusals | 31 | 39 | 9 | 14 | 7 |
| Fatalities | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Critical injuries | 258 | 317 | 350 | 377 | 396 |
Statistical notes
- Only critical injury events reported to the ministry are included.
- This represents data that were reported to the ministry and may not represent what actually occurred at the workplace.
- The critical injury numbers represent critical injuries reported to the ministry and not necessarily critical injuries as defined by 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, Immigration, 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.