Health unit says staffing shortage, OT costs behind $800K salary for Sudbury's medical officer of health

Sudbury Medical Officer of Health Dr. Penny Sutcliffe. Mar. 16/20 (Ian Campbell/CTV Northern Ontario)

Dr. Penny Sutcliffe, Greater Sudbury's medical officer of health, reported a 2021 salary of just more than $800,000 in 2021, making her the ninth highest paid public servant in the province.

But in a news release Friday, Sutcliffe said that more than $219,000 of that amount is unpaid overtime from 2020, and $263,000 is overtime from 2021.

The release stressed the staggering amount of overtime staff at Public Health Sudbury & Districts worked during the COVID-19 pandemic – 61,559 hours.

"Long hours, reassignments, seven-day multi-shift work weeks, cancelled vacations, and significant and longstanding overtime have stretched and tested everyone’s resilience," the release said.

"Today’s salary disclosure reflects this workload and includes 60 Public Health employees for 2021 as compared with 28 in 2020, and 9 in 2019."

René Lapierre, chair of the health unit's board, went to great lengths to praise Sutcliffe in the news release. Lapierre said the health unit has been trying to recruit an associate medical officer of health for more than two years, without success, forcing Sutcliffe to take on the extra work.

"Our medical officer of health, Dr. Penny Sutcliffe, has been our unfaltering leader throughout this emergency, herself having worked the equivalent of well over two positions for two years,” said Lapierre.

“Dr. Sutcliffe’s salary disclosure includes these facts, but also includes additional hours from 2020 that were not paid out until 2021. Of Dr. Sutcliffe’s disclosure, $219,000 is related to overtime worked in 2020, but not paid until 2021 and a further $263,000 is related to overtime worked and paid in 2021.”

The pandemic led to unseen costs for all health units, the release said, but provincial funding will reimburse those costs, Public Health said.

"All 2020 and 2021 COVID-19 extraordinary costs such as staff wages and overtime, space rental supplies and equipment, communications, etc. have been funded by the provincial government," the release said.

"Municipal levies have not been impacted."

The $800,727.37 Sutcliffe reported is just behind the $805,000 reported by Mark Fuller, the CEO of Ontario's Pension Board. Two officials with Ontario Power Generation Inc. were the highest paid, with CEO Ken Hartwick reporting a $1.628 million salary, and nuclear head Dominique Miniere reporting $1.523 million.

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