Sask. Health Authority to ditch problem-plagued AIMS scheduling system

The Saskatchewan Health Authority is returning to its previous scheduling system after a number of issues were identified with the AIMS system.

The payroll and scheduling components of the Administrative Information Management System (AIMS) were rolled out last month, but according to SEIU-West, the system quickly caused significant issues for health-care workers. Some workers have been seeing payroll issues, union president Lisa Zunti said earlier this month, while others have been unable to pick up shifts, leading to staffing challenges at some health facilities.

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Saskatchewan Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill acknowledged that AIMS caused “unacceptable” errors around scheduling, which also led to pay errors and issues with day-to-day operations.

On Wednesday afternoon, the health authority announced that it will revert to its previous scheduling system due to the issues with AIMS, while keeping the working parts of the system in place.

“The functions rolled out in the first phase of AIMS are working as expected, and will continue to operate as they have for more than a year now,” Cockrill said. “And while significant testing was done before launching the employee scheduling part of the system, it has become clear that it’s just not working like it should.”

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

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

The change will affect about 7,000 employees in northeastern and southwestern parts of the province, the health authority noted, along with out-of-scope employees.

“The supply chain, finance, payroll, and human resources components of AIMS, which are in use by about 50,000 employees, remain stable and are not impacted by this decision,” the health authority added.

The switch back to the previous scheduling system has a targeted date of Nov. 30, and the authority said workers and managers will receive direct communication and support to help them navigate the transition. More information is expected on Thursday morning, when the health authority is set to hold a news conference.