GRI 403/3-3, 403-2, 403-9, 403-10
In 2022, no fatalities were reported for the Fresenius Group, related to misconduct or deficiencies in the occupational health and safety measures. Further, no violations of internal policies on occupational health and safety were reported via our reporting channels whose impact would have been material for the financial position or reputation of the company. Further information on opportunities and risks can be found in the Opportunities and Risk Report.
The most common types of injuries, accidents and illnesses at in the hospital setting are needlestick injuries, musculoskeletal injuries such as contusions or fractures resulting from falls, and pathway accidents as well as assaults by patients or relatives on our employees. Typical occupational illnesses in the post-acute area relate to the intervertebral disc, back or shoulder.
In 2022, slip, trip and fall accidents and cuts were the most common in the area of production.
Fresenius Medical Care
No work-related fatalities were recorded between 2020 and 2022. In 2022, the TRIFR was equal to 2.55.
Fresenius Kabi
Fresenius Kabi performs global internal audits at its organizations to confirm compliance with applicable requirements and identify potential improvements. As necessary, the company develops measures to exploit this potential together with local responsible persons. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most audits continued to be conducted digitally in 2022. Quarterly virtual meetings took place with representatives from the organizations to exchange learning points about work-related accidents and their future prevention.
Occupational accidents are categorized according to their severity and are investigated by means of a standard investigation template. Furthermore, local management assesses the investigation reports to decide whether technical improvements, additional working equipment or instructions, or further training are required to avoid reoccurrence in future and to improve occupational health and safety for employees. Fresenius Kabi calculates the LTIFR1 from the data it collects and uses this as an indicator to measure performance; the LTIFR increased to 2.9 in 2022 due to a higher number of minor lost-time cases compared to the previous year. Even though the number of lost-time cases has increased, no serious injuries have been reported. Fresenius Kabi also considers the lost time injury severity rate (LTISR)2 in the analysis. Occupational health and safety reports are submitted to the Management Board and other relevant functions of Fresenius Kabi on a quarterly basis. The occupational health and safety report provides information about, for example, LTIFR, LTISR, the severity of the occurred injuries, the type of accidents and the identified root causes.
Lost time injury frequency rate1
Download(XLS, 35 KB)| Fresenius Kabi | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LTIFR | 2.9 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.6 |
1 LTIFR: Number of work-related accidents resulting in at least one day of absence from work in relation to 1,000,000 working hours.
2 LTISR: Number of days absent due to work-related accidents in relation to 1,000,000 working hours.
Fresenius Helios
Qualified occupational health and safety specialists and occupational physicians examine whether the requirements for occupational health and safety are met at Fresenius Helios in Germany. In addition, the requirements are regularly reviewed by supervisors from the BGW (Berufsgenossenschaft für Gesundheitsdienst und Wohlfahrtspflege - Employer’s Liability Insurance Association for Health Services and Welfare). Various audits, sometimes internal, of Fresenius Helios in Germany enable consistent analysis of existing procedures, validation of processes, and effective optimization of the occupational health and safety management already in place. Experts from the field of occupational health and safety, and hygiene, monitor jointly the management of occupational health and safety based on regulatory provisions. They cooperate on an ongoing basis across segments and developing improvement processes.
Helios Germany documents accidents locally and assesses the potential for associated risk, with a specific assessment carried out on-site; this is then discussed and assessed together with the relevant supervisory authorities. Time management reports which document absences and absenteeism and their development are recorded and evaluated locally in hospitals. Further, accident figures are evaluated at each meeting of the local health and safety committee. Based on this, Fresenius Helios takes measures to reduce absenteeism and prevent occupational accidents. In addition to the figures resulting from accident reporting, on-site local audits in particular serve to monitor the effectiveness of risk evaluations and local occupational safety and health management approaches.
Helios Spain collects data for preventive occupational safety on a monthly basis. The division has defined key figures to document absenteeism and accident rates, as well as the status of compliance with important legal requirements at employee level. Each location in Spain reports on a monthly basis on the development of the key figures. At Helios Spain, there are dashboards for monthly monitoring of absenteeism, occupational accidents, and general illness. The development of the indicators is assessed, and in case of deviations, the division implements optimization projects to reduce absenteeism.
The Fertility Services division reports work-related fatalities to the country’s and corporate Compliance Steering Committee. It monitors the incidents and takes appropriate measures to prevent work-related accidents and illnesses. Between 2018 and 2022, no work-related fatalities occurred in the division.
Fresenius Vamed
Fresenius Vamed systematically records the number of occupational accidents as part of a quarterly data collection. Despite numerous new hires, the number of occupational accidents increased only slightly in the reporting year.
All Fresenius Vamed locations are subject to regular occupational health and safety inspections in close coordination with the respective area managers and operational employees. At Fresenius Vamed, work-related incidents must not only be reported, but they also trigger an audit of existing work processes and of any proposed changes and the implementation thereof. Corresponding internal guidelines are available. The aim is to minimize risks and prevent the recurrence of hazards. Therefore, all incidents are subject to a structured evaluation by means of a root cause analysis including the corresponding improvement measures. These are prioritized in terms of technical, organizational and personnel criteria. The effectiveness of the measures is validated on site by the responsible local safety specialists. To ensure a holistically structured approach, an SOP has been implemented.
At the end of 2021, an evaluation of mental stress in the workplace was carried out by an external provider. The lead companies at the headquarters participated in the evaluation, which set out to derive further findings for improved working conditions. The results are expected to be available at the beginning of 2022. Based on the results, measures will be developed going forward. The results were analyzed at department level and, depending on the area concerned, measures were derived. In areas with particular potential for improvement, in-depth workshops with an occupational psychologist could be held on request in order to derive further measures.