The rise and fall of the Occupational Health and Safety Agency for Healthcare (OHSAH) in British Columbia, 1999 – 2010

This thesis analyzes the conditions giving rise to the Occupational Health and Safety Agency for Healthcare (OHSAH), its mandate, what it accomplished, why it was dismantled, and how its legacy can be preserved. Policy decisions contributing to the agency’s establishment and closure are explored from the perspective of stakeholders/key informants. A quantitative analysis compares injury and lost work time rates among healthcare workers with other industrial sectors and considers the costs associated with time loss from work as the result of slips, trips, falls, musculoskeletal and other injuries, and injury-related insurance claims. The competing interests and unequal distribution of power among healthcare employers and healthcare workers are described. OHSAH’s limited success in mobilizing supporters is discussed. Fundamental misperceptions and missteps are identified that contributed to OHSAH’s inability to secure champions to ensure the agency’s continued operation in the face of limited financial resources. Finally, this paper makes recommendations to further OHSAH’s legacy.