Sask health to ditch buggy scheduling software

REGINA – The provincial government has ordered the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) to stop using scheduling software that healthcare workers say has left them partially or totally unpaid and jeopardized some patient care. The SHA will go back to using the previous scheduling system that the new Administrative Information Management System (AIMS) is meant to replace. The switch to the old system should be complete by Nov. 30, according to the SHA.

The controversial AIMS project is years in the making, and its implementation in healthcare operations across the province is happening in phases. Healthcare unions have been pointing out flaws in the new system since it launched.

The SHA said it is only ending the rollout of the scheduling component of AIMS and will continue to use the software in areas such as payroll and supply chain management.

“We want to sincerely thank health system employees for their continued perseverance and dedication in adapting to the new system,” the SHA said in a news release.

“We also acknowledge and apologize for the frustrations many have experienced with the scheduling component of AIMS.”

Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill (pictured) said he ordered the SHA to stop using the software when he learned there is no immediate fix to it. About 7,000 employees are affected by the change.

“It’s a complicated IT system and they couldn’t give me a clear timeline on when we might start to see some of these fixes … and that concerns me,” Cockrill told reporters at the legislature.

Cockrill said he wants healthcare workers and managers to be focused on patient care instead of dealing with faulty software.

The AIMS project is a joint initiative between SHA and 3sHealth, which provides services including payroll and scheduling for the Saskatchewan health system.

The unions for healthcare providers affected by the AIMS scheduling software welcomed the change after criticizing the province for its rollout of the new system, but still questioned why the government ignored their concerns.

“This is a disaster,” Saskatchewan Government & General Employees Union president Tracey Sauer told reporters at the legislature on Wednesday.

“After $250 million, you should hope that this soft launch, which ended up to be a hard fall on our members, will be put to an end so they can finally be paid properly and finally be listened to.”

A 2023 provincial auditor’s report projected the AIMS system will cost the province $240 million, nearly triple the initial $86-million budget.

Earlier this month, healthcare workers demanded the province pause implementation in the remaining regions. The SHA is using AIMS scheduling software in what were formerly called the Cypress and Kelsey Trail health regions.

SGEU bargaining chair Tanya Schmidt told reporters that the union wants “a review of everybody’s pay to see what is missing and what is owed.”

SEIU-West – which represents healthcare workers such as lab techs and licensed practical nurses – said it has filed nearly 100 AIMS-related grievances with the SHA. The union said scheduling software issues affected available care for home care patients.

Source: CBC News