Opposition calls on Sask. government to investigate failures of new health-care payroll system
Leaked internal memo from health authority reveals system is still causing problems
A leaked internal memo from the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA), released by the Opposition NDP, reveals that the long-awaited new payroll and scheduling software is continuing to cause problems for health-care workers in Saskatchewan.
"We write to acknowledge and provide an update on delays in physician payments that some physicians have experienced stemming from process changes related to implementation of the new Administrative Information Management System (AIMS)," the memo read.
"We apologize for the inconvenience this delay may have caused. We recognize that even a short delay in payments can cause stress and pressures."
The province's Opposition is calling on the province for an investigation.
NDP Leader Carla Beck said Wednesday that the late payments have affected doctors in all of Saskatoon's emergency rooms, causing lowered morale and "even worsening chaos" in the health-care system.
"We already knew that nurses, autism interventionists and other health-care workers in the province are not being paid on time because of the Sask Party's second faulty rollout of their AIMS IT program," she told reporters in Saskatoon.
"The letter confirms that doctors in our province are also being shortchanged when it comes to pay because of these errors in the system."
Beck said incidents like these are reasons for Saskatchewan having some of the worst retention rates for health-care workers in the entire country.
"We've heard of people having to go into line of credit or establish a line of credit to pay for their mortgage," she said.
The SHA began rolling out AIMS this summer and has insisted it has been successful. CBC reached out to SHA for a comment, but was referred to 3sHealth, lead for the project.
Mark Anderson, CEO of 3sHealth and member of the AIMS executive steering committee, said in a statement Wednesday afternoon that while AIMS has been "a success overall," its rollout has caused some frustration for users and employees.
"The majority of invoice payments are being successfully processed and paid. Contractors are paid in accordance with the terms and conditions of their contract with the Saskatchewan Health Authority," the statement said.
"A small number of physician invoices have been delayed during the transition. Some payments are already flowing and the remaining ones being processed."
Vicki Mowat, the Opposition critic for mental health and addictions, said her party is calling on the government to follow the provincial auditor's recommendation to conduct a report on the "lessons learned" from the AIMS rollout.
The auditor said the province had spent $157 million on AIMS by March 31, 2023, and it could cost as much as $240 million in total.
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