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Violence is widespread and growing in Ontario health care

Contrary to popular perception, there are more assaults  in hospitals than in any other industry. Long-term care facilities are also major sites for assaults.  Health care as a whole has by far the most assaults that result in lost time injuries – far, far more than any other sector. 

Assaults in hospitals and LTC are overwhelmingly on women, and they are increasing over time.  

Health care support jobs have seen almost half of all the assaults on health care staff.  Health care support jobs are now the occupation with the most assaults resulting in lost time injuries - - far more than police and firefighters combined.

Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) data on approved lost time claims for violent assaults shows that hospital employees have more approved lost time injury claims for assaults than any other industry.  With 2,459 over 2011-2019 that is 10% of the total lost time injuries for assaults and 44% more than the next highest industry group.  As many hospitals are "Schedule 2" employees and reported under that category, this significantly under-reports the number of such assaults in hospitals.

These assaults constitute 12% of approved hospital lost time injuries over 2011-2019:


Homes for nursing care have the third most approved lost time claims for assaults, with 1,398.  Accordingly, when reported by industrial sector, health care has by far the most approved lost time injuries for assaults:

Although there is limited data available for 2020, we can say that 31.5% of all approved claims for assault were found in health care occupations: 932 out of 2,963. 

The trend over time has been for such assaults to increase in hospitals:

So, the 753 approved claims in 2018 and 2019 are 82% more than the 414 in 2011 and 2012.

The same upward trend over time is seen in homes for nursing care:

This trend upwards is also seen when looking at the health care industry as a whole:

There has been a significant increase in assaults on "Assisting Occupations in Support of Health Services" over time:

There were 1,117 assaults resulting in approved lost time claims on these health care support occupations in 2019 and 2020 compared with 436 in 2011 and 2012. That is a 156% increase.

Notably other occupations that experience a significant number of assaults have not seen a similar trend upwards:

So assaults need not increase. They just are increasing in health care.

Assaults overwhelmingly are on women in health care.  Here is the pattern over 2011-2019:

Fully 83.5% of health care lost time assaults are on women.  This pattern is also true in hospitals and homes for nursing care:



"Assisting Occupations in Support of Health Services" have experienced a significant amount of violence.  Of the 7,222 approved lost time claims for assaults in the health sector between 2011 and 2019, 3,461 were on people working in "Assisting Occupations in Support of Health Services".  That is 48% of the total health care assaults resulting in lost time injuries:


Of all health care occupations clearly identified by WSIB, "Assisting Occupations in Support of Health Services" has experienced by far the most assaults resulting in approved lost time claims:


It is notable that those in health care supportive occupations, at the lowest end of the health care hierarchy, experience the most assaults.  Assaults on managers and physicians are comparatively rare. 

Finally,  the low profile of violence against health care staff and the fact that these attacks are overwhelming on women can hardly be assumed to be conicidental.  

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Location: Ontario, Canada

Comments

  1. AnonymousJuly 15, 2022 at 9:35 AM

    Shocking but not shocking in that it validates what health care workers are reporting; with that said, this data only reflects the assaults significant enough to trigger a WSIB claim. So many health care worker assaults are not reported to WSIB and are frankly brushed off by staff who are told by their educators and employers "it's part of the job/this is what you signed up for". Would be curious to know if there is any data on denied claims for assaults, especially considering WSIB frequently denies lost time claims regardless of the injury type.

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