Dr. Wael Saber will tell you that patients visiting the access clinic at the Charlotte County Wellness Centre – a clinic specifically designed to divert patients from the emergency room – have pleaded with him to become their full-time doctor.
Saber is the only physician working out of the new clinic, on the third floor of the Charlotte County Hospital (CCH). There are also three nurse practitioners, two registered nurses, two licensed practical nurses, one respiratory therapist, and one social worker.
“Since I’ve come to the community, it was obvious that the community is in great need of doctors,” he said, speaking with reporters. “I have been facing a lot of patients who have never seen a doctor for years and years, and that [is] a challenging situation.”
The clinic opened in February, according to the Department of Health, and has since taken 310 patients off the primary care waitlist. Saber said space is the clinic’s biggest issue.
“I’m trying my best to make these things work for them; however, as we know, space [is] a big challenge,” he said. “I have a lot of colleagues who are still waiting to join, to come to the community, they are willing to come and help, but the space is a big challenge.”
He said he came in June, and he’s been waiting for things to improve, but nothing has changed.
“Today’s announcement kind of gives us hope that things are on track,” he said. “I’m still facing a lot of patients who I see [in] the access clinic, who are begging me to be their family doctor.”
Premier Susan Holt said the limited space means more people can’t come off the list.
“So this investment means new space that will have room for more patients and investment in more practitioners, so that we can take more patients off the list, because that is the goal to get everybody attached as quickly as we can,” she said. “And we can’t do it here. This is not the ideal place.”
St. Stephen marks the ninth collaborative care clinic to be undertaken by the Holt government. It has committed to 30 throughout the next several years, and 10 within the first 18 months of the mandate.
Holt was asked on Tuesday when the clinic could open, but could only say it would be early 2026.
“We’ll get the lease signed, we’ll get it renovated, and we’ll have people in before the snow melts,” Holt said.
When asked why announce it before the clinic was ready, Holt said it is to reassure the public.
“I think folks are asking us: you’ve forgotten about us, you’re not doing anything, it’s not going to happen,” she said. “The ninth collaborative clinic is in St. Stephen.”
Holt said it would not open before the end of the year in its new location.
In total, the government announced $3.6 million dollars for the property it intends to lease, which has not been disclosed, and further recruitment efforts.
The municipal council in St. Stephen has also made efforts to recruit and retain healthcare providers. It has also helped the province procure a new property. Deputy Mayor Ghislaine Wheaton and Coun. Emily Rodas is part of the Community Health Committee.
“We have a municipal incentive that the council developed. It’s $125,000 over five years, which is huge,” Rodas said, speaking with The Courier.
She explained that it has been challenging to not have a better understanding of where the clinic might end up, especially when trying to recruit primary care providers. Both Rodas and Wheaton have spent time with the Saber family, helping them learn about the school district and various community programming.
“This is one small step in the right direction,” she said.
