Healthcare worker safety

In fact, workers in the healthcare and social assistance industries combined suffered more injuries and illnesses than workers in any industry in the nation.

Risk management in healthcare facilities

As National Caregivers Day falls on February 18, the U.S. Department of Labour’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) calls on healthcare employers and those in related industries to take immediate action to help make 2022 less hazardous and reduce worker injuries and illnesses.

“Healthcare worker safety is crucial, but it routinely faces the risks associated with exposures to bloodborne pathogens, drug residue, X-ray machines, respiratory illness, and ergonomic injuries related to lifting patients and repetitive tasks,” said OSHA’s Acting Regional Administrator Ryan Hodge.

Security leaders in the healthcare sector can protect employees from myriad risks by creating and using a proactive worker safety and risk management program to address hazards and endorse training and preventive measures to keep workers safe.

Healthcare Worker Safety in Action

To understand how effective a program of this kind can be, consider how Community Hospital Onaga — part of Community HealthCare System Inc.’s nonprofit healthcare system — succeeded in improving the safety and health of its workers. In 2000, the hospital in rural northeast Kansas contacted OSHA’s onsite consultation program about enhancing workplace safety. Visits by the Kansas Department of Labour’s onsite consultation program soon began.

Following those visits, Community Hospital succeeded in correcting all hazards inspectors identified, and it continued to improve its safety and health programs. By December 2002, OSHA’s Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program awarded the facility “SHARP” status, one of only two Kansas hospitals in the program. The facility has kept injury and illness rates below the industry average since 2002. As a result, OSHA has renewed Community Hospital’s SHARP status eight times, most recently in June 2021.

“As COVID-19 spread, Community HealthCare System implemented a plan to protect employees and clients. Other healthcare systems can follow their model by encouraging a mindset that anticipates and addresses hazards before they cause harm,” Hodge said.

Everyone has a role in the safety

A new job is a chance for a fresh start. You’re learning new skills and meeting new people. But every job has hazards, no matter how safe it looks.

The number of people in Ontario who suffer a work-related illness or injury each year would fill the seats of a dozen big hockey arenas.

Who do you think is more likely to get hurt or sick on the job and why?

1. new and young workers
2. experienced workers

The right answer is (a). Studies show that new and young workers in Ontario are four times more likely to get hurt during their first month on the job than at any other time. That’s because they often aren’t told about or don’t understand the hazards of the job.

They don’t know what to expect from their employer, their supervisor, and themselves. Sometimes they aren’t sure what questions to ask. Sometimes they don’t even know who to ask. That’s where the law comes in.

How the Occupational Health and Safety Act works

The OHSA is a set of laws that spells out the duties of employers, supervisors, and the rights and duties of workers. There are also different regulations that are attached to the OHSA. They contain more detailed laws about how to make the workplace safe in specific situations. For example, several regulations explain what is needed to work safely with chemicals and other hazardous materials. This includes training, warning labels on products, and information sheets. There are also regulations for different types of workplaces, such as construction projects, healthcare facilities, industrial establishments, and mines.

The whole point of the OHSA and regulations is to keep workers from getting hurt or sick on the job. There are inspectors from the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development who make sure the laws are followed and may issue orders or lay charges if they aren’t. If a person is convicted of breaking the law, there are penalties such as fines or time in prison.

The OHSA gives everyone in the workplace duties. These duties are connected to the level of authority each person has in the workplace. To sort out all the duties in a workplace, the OHSA breaks them down to three main levels of authority:

• The employer (who is in charge of everyone)
• the supervisor
• the worker (you)

To which of these three people do you think the OHSA gives the most duties and why?

1. the employer
2. the supervisor
3. the worker

The right answer is (a) – the employer. The more authority a person has in the workplace, the more health and safety duties they have. It’s important for your safety that you understand everyone’s health and safety duties.

Duties of the employer

Here are some of the things the OHSA says every employer has to do as part of their job:

• Make sure workers know about hazards and dangers in the workplace and how to work safely.
• Make sure every supervisor knows how to take care of health and safety on the job.
• Create health and safety policies and procedures for the workplace.
• Make sure everyone knows and follows the health and safety procedures.
• Make sure workers wear and use the right protective equipment.
• Do everything reasonable to keep workers from getting hurt or sick on the job.

Duties of the supervisor

Here are some of the things the OHSA says every supervisor has to do as part of their job:

• Tell workers about hazards and dangers in the workplace and show them how to work safely.
• Make sure workers follow the law and workplace health and safety policies and procedures.
• Make sure workers wear and use the right protective equipment.
• Do everything reasonable to keep workers from getting hurt or sick on the job.

Duties of the worker

Now here are some of the things the OHSA says every worker has to do as part of their job:

• Follow the law and workplace health and safety policies and procedures.
• Always wear or use the protective equipment that the employer requires.
• Work and act in a way that won’t hurt them or any other worker.
• Report any hazard they find in the workplace to their supervisor.

Suppose you have been asked to run a piece of equipment that you don’t know very much about. What should your employer and your supervisor do to make sure you are able to do it safely?

The people who made the OHSA thought about that question, too. The act says that your supervisor and your employer have to “take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for your protection.” That means they have to do everything that is reasonable to protect you on the job.

Rights of the worker

Your employer has the responsibility to make the workplace as safe as possible and to tell you about any hazards in the work you do. Your supervisor has the same duty. They also have to make sure you know how to avoid those dangers and work safely. You have the right under the OHSA to be told about the hazards in the work you do and to be instructed on how to do your work safely.

If someone asks you to do work that you don’t know enough about, your employer and supervisor are responsible for making sure you know how to do the work safely. That’s why you have the right to speak up and ask questions — even if you are shy or unsure. People can get hurt on the job if they don’t have the right information and training.

You should never have to be worried that you will get in trouble for asking questions or reporting a problem. It’s against the law for your employer or your supervisor to punish you in any way for doing what the OHSA says or for asking your employer or supervisor to do what the OHSA expects them to do. This is called a “reprisal”. It’s even against the law for your supervisor or employer to threaten to punish or fire you for doing these things.

You also have a right to refuse to do unsafe work if you have reason to believe it puts you or a fellow worker in danger. We will look at this right and your protection from reprisals in more detail later.

Prevention starts here, but it doesn’t end here.