Customer Case: Munkvoll Health and Welfare Center, Trondheim, AI-Powered Workforce Planning
Challenge: Like many care facilities in Norway, Munkvoll Health and Welfare Center in Trondheim faces the perennial issue of high short-term sick leave, especially during flu season and around holidays. These unpredictable absences often lead to frantic calls and messages to off-duty staff, creating stress for both managers and employees, and risking understaffing during critical times. Traditional scheduling tools lacked the foresight needed to proactively address staffing shortfalls, leaving unit leaders with limited options beyond reactive planning. Foto: Ole Martin Wold, Enhetsleder Jorun Slettahjell får hjelp fra programvare basert på kunstig intelligens når neste års turnus skal planlegges. Solution: [...]
Customer Case: Trondheim and Oslo Municipalities; Predictive Absence Planning with SynPlan
Challenge: The health and care sector across Norway’s municipalities faces severe operational strain due to high levels of employee absenteeism. This leads to frequent last-minute phone calls to staff asking them to cover extra shifts, increasing burnout and inefficiencies. Traditional staffing models struggle to predict and prepare for these fluctuations, causing disruptions in care delivery and financial strain from overuse of overtime and temporary staff. Solution: Enter SynPlan, a predictive AI solution developed by entrepreneur Hai Thanh Nguyen. Inspired by his wife’s burnout as a nurse frequently called in on short notice, Nguyen, who has a background from NTNU, [...]
Customer Case: Trondheim Municipality; Brundalen Health and Welfare Center
Challenge: Trondheim Municipality faced significant challenges in its healthcare and welfare services due to high rates of employee absenteeism, extensive use of costly temp agencies, and an increasing reliance on overtime. These issues led to a mismatch between scheduled and actual staffing levels, especially when last-minute sick leave made it difficult to find substitutes with the right qualifications. At Brundalen Health and Welfare Center, night-shift staff were often forced to make early-morning phone calls in an attempt to fill urgent scheduling gaps, increasing stress levels and reducing overall efficiency. Solution: In collaboration with NTNU, Trondheim Municipality embarked on a [...]
Impact of AI on the healthcare workforce
Healthcare systems are dealing with greater demand from patients. The relentless drivers driving demand include population ageing, shifting patient expectations, and a shift in lifestyle choices. Among these are the effects of an ageing population. By 2050, one in four individuals in Europe and North America will be over 65, putting more patients with complicated medical needs on the healthcare system's plate. Managing such patients is costly, and it necessitates a paradigm shift away from episodic treatment toward one that is considerably more proactive and focused on long-term care management. The cost of healthcare is just not keeping up [...]
Staffing Challenges in Healthcare: A Costly and Human Burden
The healthcare sector in both Norway and the United States is facing significant staffing challenges. These issues are not only driving up operational costs but also negatively impacting the quality of patient care. High Absenteeism, Serious Consequences In Norway, sickness absence among healthcare workers is a staggering 40% higher than in other industries. This leads to increased reliance on overtime and temporary staff, placing financial and emotional strain on both institutions and their employees. In the United States, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 7.8 million workers were absent due to illness in January 2022, more than double [...]
Building a culture for full-time employment with Tech and Innovation
In September, SynPlan hosted a roundtable conference with unions, municipalities, and universities to discuss the full-time culture of municipal health and care services. The conference was held at NTNU’s office in Oslo and had participation from Norsk Sykepleierforbund, Fagforbundet, Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS), Trondheim municipality, Oslo municipality, NTNU and Nord University. The event was facilitated by Werner Christie, former Minister of Health and Camilla Roede Skevik & Hai Nguyen from NTNU A high proportion of part-time employees is one of the biggest challenges to Norwegian municipalities. Combined with the shortage of GPs and nurses, that [...]