employee incident reporting and investigation - Interior Health ...

This is an Interior Health CONTROLLED document. A copy of this document in paper form is not controlled andshould be checked against the electronic file version to ensure accuracyAdministrative Policy ManualCode: AV Workplace Health and SafetyAV1100 – EMPLOYEE INCIDENT REPORTING AND INVESTIGATION1.0 PURPOSETo inform employees, managers and Joint Occupational Health and Safety committees of thestandards and guidelines which promote timely and complete reporting of employee incident details,initiate required claims management processes, facilitate investigation of incident causes and assistInterior Health to identify actions and implement strategies to prevent recurrence and meet itsregulatory requirements under Part 3 Division 10 (172-177) of the WorkSafeBC regulations.2.0 DEFINITIONSIncidentInvestigationTime loss incidentMedical Aid IncidentNear MissIncludes an accident or other unplanned/unwanted occurrence whichresulted in, or had the potential for, causing an occupational injury oroccupational disease.An analysis and account of an incident based on information gathered bya thorough examination of all factors involved, with a primary purpose ofpreventing recurrenceIncident which resulted in a serious injury requiring the employee to misstime from work, on a physician’s recommendation.Incident which resulted in a minor injury requiring the employee to seekadvice from a physician and return to workIncident which has significant potential for injury, or loss of businesscontinuity but was avoided by action or good fortune3.0 POLICY3.1 GeneralInterior Health is committed to providing a safe and healthy workplace for all employees throughevidence-based injury prevention strategies such as provision of appropriate resources, equipmentand processes, as well as education and supervision.Employees will be provided training on reporting procedures and are encouraged to reportemployee incidents, in order to create a culture of discovery, as well as staff and patient safety andinjury prevention, rather than blame and tolerance for risk.Interior Health will provide systems, training and resources which facilitate reporting andinvestigation of incidents to ensure causes and contributing factors are uncovered and corrected,any work-related claims are processed appropriately and statistical data is maintained for review bymanagement and Joint Occupational Health and Safety committees.Policy Sponsor: Vice President People and Clinical Services 1 of 4Policy Steward: Manager, Partnerships and Prevention, Workplace Health & Safety DepartmentDate Approved: October 2003 Date(s) Reviewed-r/Revised-R: September 2012

This is an Interior Health CONTROLLED document. A copy of this document in paper form is not controlled andshould be checked against the electronic file version to ensure accuracy3.2 Roles and ResponsibilitiesAdministrative Policy ManualCode: AV Workplace Health and SafetyHuman Resource Business Partners will provide training and support to their managers onincident investigation processes and tools and coach managers in developing effectiveinvestigations skills and recommendations for corrective actions which prevent recurrence. TheHuman Resource Business Partners will liaise with managers to ensure that any incidentinvestigation required under applicable legislation is completed appropriately and communicated tothe Workplace Health & Safety Department for review and data collection.Workplace Health & Safety Department will develop training materials, tools and processes toassist managers, staff, the Human Resource Business Partners and the Joint Health and SafetyCommittees in their roles in incident investigation and to administer systems which facilitate InteriorHealth to meet its legislative and organizational requirements for reporting and investigation ofincidents. In addition the Workplace Health & Safety Department will ensure information is readilyavailable for all new and existing employees on how to access the reporting system, the detailsrequired in their reports as well as the purposes of reporting and investigations. The WorkplaceHealth & Safety Department will maintain and distribute statistical information as required related toincident frequency, causes, outcomes, trends and costs.4.0 PROCEDURES4.1 EmployeesPromptly report any injury/incident or exposure to their manager/supervisor and to the WorkplaceHealth Call Centre (WHCC). The WHCC staff records, clarifies and reviews details of the incidentand any resulting injuries as described by the employee, as necessary for claims managementrequirements. An incident details report is immediately sent to the employee for review and for theirrecords.Employees participate in the investigation of causes and contributing factors with their manager anda worker representative knowledgeable in the work performed during the injury/incident, to assist theorganization to correct unsafe acts and conditions and meet its regulatory requirements.Note: A near miss incident which does not involve any injury to the employee can be reported as ahazard on the Patient Safety Learning System ‘Safety Event Form’ on the Interior Health InsideNet4.2 ManagersOn report of an injury/incident by an employee initiate the investigation process promptly. If aserious or immediate threat to the worker or other workers exists, an investigation must be initiatedand corrective actions which reduce or eliminate identified risks must be implemented andcommunicated to staff. Some violent or very serious injury/near miss incidents require theinvestigation to begin as soon as feasible during the shift, and may require immediate reporting toWorkSafeBC. Otherwise investigations should be initiated within 48 hours if possible.Immediately on processing of the incident by the WHCC, email notification of the incident is receivedby the manager and Human Resource Business Partner. Managers then convene an investigationmeeting (on site if possible or interview by phone if necessary) which includes the employee, aworker representative and other any parties which could contribute to discovery of the causes andcontributing factors, including witnesses and to recommendation of corrective actions. Thecompleted Incident Investigation Report is forwarded to the Workplace Health & Safety departmentPolicy Sponsor: Vice President People and Clinical Services 2 of 4Policy Steward: Manager, Partnerships and Prevention, Workplace Health & Safety DepartmentDate Approved: October 2003 Date(s) Reviewed-r/Revised-R: September 2012

This is an Interior Health CONTROLLED document. A copy of this document in paper form is not controlled andshould be checked against the electronic file version to ensure accuracyAdministrative Policy ManualCode: AV Workplace Health and Safetyfor inclusion in the Interior Health incident tracking system. Any changes to policy, procedures orpractices recommended to prevent recurrence must be communicated by the manager to stafffollowing the investigation.4.3 Joint Occupational Health and Safety CommitteesReview incident data and investigation results monthly and advise management of the effectivenessof corrective actions. Annual review of site injury and incident trends as well as evaluation andrecommendations re: incident reporting and investigation processes to site management.5.0 REFERENCES1. WorkSafeBC, Occupational Health and Safety Regulations. Availablehttp://www2worksafebc.com2. Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety. Available www.ccohs.comPolicy Sponsor: Vice President People and Clinical Services 3 of 4Policy Steward: Manager, Partnerships and Prevention, Workplace Health & Safety DepartmentDate Approved: October 2003 Date(s) Reviewed-r/Revised-R: September 2012

This is an Interior Health CONTROLLED document. A copy of this document in paper form is not controlled andshould be checked against the electronic file version to ensure accuracyAdministrative Policy ManualCode: AV Workplace Health and SafetyGUIDELINES TO REPORTING AND INVESTIGATION OF INCIDENTSProcessActions and outcomesEmployee injury/incident occurs • Seek First Aid immediately if injured. Note: If a patient is also injured, PSLS notification is required.• Supervisor may advise First Aid if injured/ unable to work. Employee may return to work; May seek medical aid (MA)• Directed to call Workplace Health Call Centre at 1-866-922-9464• Supervisor begins investigation – asks employee who / what / where / when/ how / whyEmployee reports incident to supervisor• If worker fatality, serious violent or other injury, near miss, structural failure, hazardous spill or release the Manager(or designate) must contact WorkSafeBC immediately to notify them of the incident. Call 1-866-621-7233 (0830-1630) or 1-866-922-4357 after hours to report.• Document for manager review and inclusion in investigation if requiredEmployee calls the Workplace Health Call Centre at:• Describes incident, what lead up to incident. Notes any eye witnesses. What body part(s) injured, if any.1-866-922-9464• If time loss or medical aid employee also calls WCB Teleclaim 1-888-WORKERSWHCC staff obtains incident details with employee over the phoneand begin claims process if necessary.• WHCC staff enters information into injury tracking database and completes Employer Report of Injury toWorkSafeBC if time loss or medical aid. Forwards payroll, shift info etc to WorksafeBCWHCC verifies details over phone and copies to employee• WHCC staff emails/ mails/ scans copy of incident details to employee as preferred.• WHCC staff emails incident and investigation form to Manager and HRBPManager contacts worker rep, employee and any witnesses re:investigation.Investigation team gather information to ask further clarifyingquestions if needed as more information surfaces• Manager may request other resources at meeting e.g. HRBP and/ or specialist, Peer Leader, HR, Infection Control,Maintenance, Code White team lead etc• Who—identify all staff, patients, visitors etc who influenced the event• What-happened / was happening before, procedures in place, training taken, equipment used/ available, etc• Where- occurred, scene layout and conditions including equipment, people, noise, lighting, wet surfaces etc.• When-occurred, reported.• How—describe how events unfolded, timelines etcInvestigation team identifies contributing factors and causes • Why—actions taken/ not taken, procedures changed/ not followed, decisions made that influenced the outcome etcInvestigation team agree on recommended corrective actionsCompleted Investigation report emailed to WHCC• Implement interim measures if solutions to prevent recurrence require time to develop.• Document plan and sign off• Manager files incident and investigation details for action planning and future reference• Communicate findings and any immediate policy, practice changes etc to staffWHCC staff input investigation findings into the WHITE database • Incident & investigation details are included in a report for JOSH committee/manager reviewManager implements changes and evaluates outcomes • Ensure corrective actions are effective or make further changes to reduce risk.JOSH committees review incident details andrecommendations• May return investigation to manager for further details or suggest additional corrective actions to prevent recurrence.Will advise management of trends and effectiveness of programsPolicy Sponsor: Vice President People and Clinical Services 4 of 4Policy Steward: Manager, Partnerships and Prevention, Workplace Health & Safety DepartmentDate Approved: October 2003 Date(s) Reviewed-r/Revised-R: September 2012