Six people originally from Syria and Congo were the first patients this morning at Saskatoon's new one-stop medical clinic for refugees.

"It went very well, actually," said Dr. Yvonne Blonde, who spent her morning meeting her new patients. "It was smooth, no logistical problems and really joyful."

The Refugee Engagement And Community Health clinic will run every Wednesday morning at the Saskatoon Community Clinic.

Patients are referred to the REACH clinic by staff at the Global Gathering Place, a drop-in centre that provides services for immigrants and refugees. A translator accompanies each patient during their initial consultation, and an interpreter is available by telephone during subsequent appointments.

Developmental, mental health concerns for kids

Over the past year, more than 500 refugees have arrived in Saskatoon. The majority were from Syria, but there are also a number of other people fleeing persecution in other parts of the Middle East and Africa.

"For children, the main issues are developmental concerns, mental health issues, nutrition concerns and chronic disease," said pediatrician Mahli Brindamour.

"Often when they arrive here there are language barriers, they live in poverty, they've often borne witness to trauma."

Brindamour and Blonde noted refugees arriving in Saskatoon tend to be young and resilient, although gaining their trust can be difficult.

"In Syria, as an example, it doesn't come naturally that they immediately trust everything that we do," said Blonde. "It's something we have to be aware of and be humble about and work on over time."

Clinic will be evaluated

Brindamour said refugees tend to integrate better into Canadian society when they see a doctor within a few months of arriving.

She helped set up an emergency medical clinic for hundreds of Syrians who arrived a year ago. The new refugee clinic is more permanent and is open to refugees from any country.

The four doctors participating work in partnership with the Saskatoon Community Clinic, the Global Gathering Place, the Saskatoon Open Door Society, the Saskatoon Health Region and the provincial tuberculosis control agency, as well as the University of Saskatchewan's departments of family medicine, pediatrics, and community health and epidemiology.

​Blonde said the weekly refugee clinic visits will not cut into the time doctors spend with any of their other patients.

"It has been identified as a need within our health care system for some time," said Blonde. "We are evaluating whether this is really something that is effective. And we will not continue it if we don't see that."