Health-care injury, illness claims increase ‘at alarming rate,’ highest of all workplaces, WCB reports

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This article was published 11/05/2023 (895 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

More than 25,000 Manitobans opened a case with the Workers Compensation Board last year with the health-care sector driving an injury-claim increase in excess of six per cent.

Injury and time loss-claims continued to rise in 2022, according to the board’s annual report, costing the corporation just over $191 million.

“Healthcare-related injuries and illnesses continued to increase at an alarming rate in 2022,” the report stated, noting health care had the highest injury rate of all workplaces and one of two industries that recorded a significant jump in claims.

The public-administration sector — which includes workers employed by municipal, provincial and federal governments — was the other area to report a spike in workplace injuries and illnesses, and currently has one of the highest injury rates in the province, the WCB reported.

The increase in injuries in public administration was driven by COVID-19 claims, the board said.

Last year, there was a total of 25,632 injury claims in Manitoba, up 1,629 cases, or 6.7 per cent, from 2021. Severe injuries also increased by 308 cases, or 10 per cent, last year. In 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the WCB received 27,495 injury claims.

Of all claims, 14,391 resulted in a time loss, representing a nearly 11 per cent increase. The WCB paid out an average of 30.6 days for all wage-loss claims, down from 33.2 in 2021. There were 787,559 days lost to workplace injury or illness last year.

The board also accepted 16 fatality claims last year, down from 20 in 2021.

Despite the increases, the WCB reported a lower claims cost compared to the $201 million spent in 2021. The board attributed part of the difference to COVID-19 claims, which tend to resolve more quickly.

“While the total number of time loss claims were up significantly from 2021, wage loss payments were up just $2 million. A high number of COVID-19 claims, which are generally of short duration and therefore lower cost, drove this trend,” the WCB said.

The board also reported a loss of $70 million (3.2 per cent) on its investments last year owing to market challenges related to the war in Ukraine, inflation and interest rates, according to the report.

Meantime, operating expenses were $12 million below budget, attributed to staffing levels and project activity that had not returned to pre-pandemic levels.

The WCB said it launched a new industry-based safety program for the health sector — titled Manitoba Association for Safety in Healthcare — last year to address increasing injury rates.

Two health system employers — Actionmarguerite and Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority — also pursued Safe Work certification last year, the report stated.

“This pilot project is intended to show that certification of healthcare providers is achievable and reduces the risk of injuries,” the WCB said.

Additionally, a strained health-care system has impeded workers’ access to timely and effective health-care services, significantly impacting the WCB’s ability to achieve its target to reduce days lost to workplace injuries and illness, according to the report.

The board also noted it is facing challenges in attracting and retaining its own workforce while experiencing a “potential sharp increase in retirements” as it prepares to undertake its digital modernization plan, which will significantly change the business model and have sweeping impacts across the organization.

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca