Leeds Grenville Welcomes New Doctors in Brockville and Prescott

Brockville/Prescott – The United Counties of Leeds and Grenville in a Joint Agreement with Brockville, Prescott and Gananoque welcomes four new primary care physicians through the region’s Physician Recruitment Program.

• Dr. Pournamathi Kandeeswaran has relocated to Brockville from the United Kingdom and has been working with Brockville Family Medical Centre since the end of June.
• Dr. Muhammad Saqib has relocated to Brockville from the United Kingdom and has been working with Dr. Riyaz and team in Brockville since mid August.
• Dr. Ben Ladowski has relocated to Prescott from the United States and is now working with the Prescott Family Medical Associates as of the beginning of September.
• Dr. Zohal Saiq has relocated to Brockville from the United Kingdom in mid September and will be taking over Dr. Pajot’s practice at the Chelsea Court Health Centre.
• Dr. Kandeeswaran, Dr. Saqib and Dr. Ladowski doctors will be rostering new patients from the provincial Health Care Connect list. Individuals must have a valid Ontario health number to register online.

In January 2025, the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville engaged Health Workforce Innovations to help address the growing shortage of family physicians across the region. Recognizing the urgent need for primary care providers, George Smitherman and Sherri Hudson-Fournier presented a
recruitment strategy focused on attracting highly trained internationally educated physicians whose qualifications and expertise align with Canadian family doctors.

In partnership with the Town of Prescott, the City of Brockville, and the Town of Gananoque, the Counties have committed to working with Health Workforce Innovations through January 2028 to strengthen local primary care capacity. This initiative aims to recruit additional family physicians to
meet current community needs and prepare for anticipated physician retirements in the coming years.

Residents who do not currently have a family physician are encouraged to register with Ontario’s Health Care Connect program to help connect them with available primary care services as it is anticipated more announcements will occur later this year and into 2027.

“The Counties recognized the importance of residents having access to regular medical care,” says Warden Corinna Smith-Gatcke. “The joint agreement between our partner municipalities in the hiring of Health Workforce Innovations is now seeing positive results.”

“Having access to reliable primary care has been a top priority for Brockville. I know everyone joins me in extending a warm, heartfelt welcome to Dr. Kandeeswaran and Dr. Saqib as they become part of our community,“ says Brockville’s Mayor Matt Wren

“Working with the Counties in this joint effort recognizes that residents will travel between municipalities to receive medical care by a family physician,” said Gauri Shankar, Mayor of Prescott. “Having Dr. Ladowski become part of the Prescott team is an important step to improving local
healthcare.”

“The most impactful moments in our work are seeing the faces of joy and relief amongst patients getting connected to their own doctor,” said Mr. Smitherman.

“We have promoted Leeds Grenville to hundreds of doctors and brought a few dozen to tour the area. The warmth and respect shown to them in Leeds Grenville is far and away our greatest selling feature,” said Ms. Fournier-Hudson.