Nova ScotiaMultiple patients who spoke to CBC News have not had appointments booked past Sept. 19. The health authority maintains the clinic is not closing and said there is “inaccurate information being shared online” about the clinic. Nova Scotia Health maintains clinic is not closing, conversations with physicians ongoingLuke Ettinger · CBC News · Posted: Sep 02, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours agoEvery four weeks, Ann Gilroy receives lidocaine infusion therapy for chronic pain as a result of a car accident 15 years ago. She fears those treatments may not happen in the future. (Luke Ettinger/CBC)Ann Gilroy says the pain clinic at the Cumberland Regional Health Care Centre has given her independence again, but the Springhill, N.S., woman’s next appointment is up in the air. Every four weeks she receives lidocaine infusion therapy for chronic pain as a result of a car accident 15 years ago. The 60-year-old woman has been a patient at the pain clinic for about a decade and credits her mobility to the care she has received. Now she fears her appointment on Aug 16 may have been her last — and debilitating pain will return. “My last appointment was very sober. You could tell that the doctor was choked up. My nurses weren’t the same,” Gilroy said. “I always get my following appointment the day I leave.…This time I didn’t get my appointment,” she added. ‘Ensuring continuity of care’Multiple patients who spoke to CBC News have not had appointments booked past Sept 19, but Nova Scotia Health said appointments will continue to be scheduled. The health authority maintains the clinic is not closing and said there is “inaccurate information being shared online.” “We are committed to working with physicians at the pain clinic to ensure ongoing care for patients. Conversations are ongoing with physicians with the goal of continuing to provide services, and these discussions are focused on ensuring continuity of care,” said Jennifer Lewandowski, a spokesperson for Nova Scotia Health, in a statement. Lewandowski said there have been no “formal resignation” received from doctors at the clinic, and six months’ notice is required. She said parts of the pain clinic are relocating within the hospital and upgrades are underway. “A collaborative plan is being developed with physicians to support the transition of some services to a new exam room space at Cumberland Regional Health Care Centre in the future,” she saidElizabeth Smith-McCrossin, the Independent MLA for Cumberland North, said the pain clinic has helped thousands of patients across the Maritimes. (Michael Gorman/CBC)In a social media post on Wednesday, Independent MLA for Cumberland North Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin characterized the new space as “a closet” and said there are also cuts to operating room time for the clinic.”It certainly appears from what I’m being told that the space that’s being offered is not a safe space for the physicians to provide the intervention,” she told CBC News in an interview. “Our health-care professionals of various backgrounds have shared this information with me confidentially.” Pain clinic patient Scott McKee said treatments have previously been moved around within the Cumberland Regional Health Care Centre. “The nurses weren’t happy with it. We weren’t comfortable. Yes, we got our treatment, but it wasn’t the treatment that we’re used to getting,” he said. Little information for patientsMcKee said neither his doctor nor the physician his mother receives care from are providing information on the matter to patients. His next appointment is in early September and McKee said it’s atypical to not already have another booked. “My business wouldn’t be open if I was in the same shape that I was in,” said McKee, the owner of a service station in Southampton. “We’re what, 300 people in this community?… I can list 10 that go to this clinic in this area alone,” he said. Chris Gallagher, left, and Scott McKee, both of Southampton, N.S., are patients concerned about the future of the pain clinic at the Cumberland Regional Health Care Centre. (Luke Ettinger/CBC)Among McKee’s neighbours who attend the clinic is Chris Gallagher. Gallagher said he has no idea what is happening with the clinic that’s given him mobility to take care of his property and ride his motorcycle. Prior to treatments, getting out of the bathtub and dressing himself were a challenge. “From what I’m hearing, that’s the end of it. I have no reason to think anything different. I’ve heard nothing positive. I’ve heard nothing positive from politicians, nothing positive from the hospital. So I have no reason to think positive at all,” said Gallagher.The patients have joined forces by starting a petition addressed to Cumberland South MLA Tory Rushton, with hundreds of names calling for the clinic to remain open. MLA sends ‘urgent letter’ On Aug. 13, Smith-McCrossin said she had sent “an urgent letter” to Health Minister Michelle Thompson asking her “to confirm or deny what patients have heard and to intervene if, in fact, a closure is planned.” That letter has gone unanswered, Smith-McCrossin said Wednesday.The MLA and patients also spoke about an interruption to care at the clinic in May 2024, and expressed concern about potentially travelling out of Cumberland County for treatment. “Rather than potentially closing the clinic, I believe Nova Scotia Health has a duty to ensure the clinic remains in Cumberland and should be looking for ways to expand and shorten the waitlist which presently can be over two years,” said Smith-McCrossin.The Department of Health and Wellness deferred comment to Nova Scotia Health.ABOUT THE AUTHORLuke Ettinger is a reporter with CBC Nova Scotia based in Truro. Reach him at luke.ettinger@cbc.ca.
Patients question future of Cumberland County pain clinic
