Government of Ontario (MOL & MOHLTC)
Workplace violence against Ontario’s healthcare workers had reached crisis levels. Fifty-six percent of all lost-time injuries from violence in the hospital sector were among registered nurses. Emergency departments, psychiatric units, and long-term care facilities were most affected, with chronic underreporting masking the true scale. The Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care had not jointly addressed a shared mandate since the 2003 SARS crisis. The stakeholder landscape was deeply fragmented — unions, hospital associations, nursing colleges, patient advocacy groups, and front-line workers each held legitimate but competing priorities. Ontario needed a coordinated, cross-ministry response that could produce evidence-based recommendations balancing worker safety with patient care quality.
Innavera’s Lead Consultant designed and facilitated the Workplace Violence Prevention in Health Care Leadership Table — a 23-member body co-chaired by Deputy Minister Sophie Dennis (MOL) and Deputy Minister Dr. Bob Bell (MOHLTC). The engagement began with developing the project’s logic model to align all stakeholders around shared inputs, activities, outputs, and long-term outcomes. We managed two parallel workstreams: Phase 1 delivered 13 products including workplace violence prevention guidelines, risk assessment tools, training frameworks, and reporting mechanisms focused on nurses in hospitals. Phase 2 produced 21 additional products covering curriculum integration for nursing schools, technology solutions for incident tracking, public communication plans, and leadership accountability frameworks. We built the implementation plan — 166 key items with owners, timelines, governance structures, KPIs, and accountability measures. Throughout, we facilitated consensus across competing stakeholder interests: unions focused on worker rights, employers on operational feasibility, regulators on compliance, and patient advocates on care quality. An Advisory Committee was established to provide additional expert input, and a total of 108 people participated across the Leadership Table and its Working Groups.
We combine deep industry expertise with rigorous execution to help governments and enterprises unlock new growth.
Start a ConversationThe Leadership Table delivered 23 consensus recommendations addressing prevention, training, reporting, organizational culture, and accountability. Thirty-four deliverables were produced across two implementation phases, supported by a structured framework of 166 actionable items with timelines and accountability measures. Ontario’s first cross-ministry governance model for healthcare worker safety since the SARS crisis was established. The recommendations led to workplace violence becoming the first mandatory indicator in hospital Quality Improvement Plans for the 2018/19 fiscal year. Legislative amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act were advanced, and the framework influenced subsequent provincial policy on workplace violence prevention across the healthcare sector.
Start a conversation about your next strategic initiative.
Get in Touch
