Bianca Gallant wants things to change.
Just two weeks ago, a surgeon told her she was just minutes from death, but only after she’d waited 14 hours at the Dr. Georges.-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre.
She had to be rushed into emergency surgery. They ended up pumping out 2.5 litres of blood, said Gallant, and her right ovary and fallopian tubes had to be removed. She said she never found out where the blood came from.
The entire experience, which also brought her to two other hospitals, left her wanting answers.
“I still never got the full answers or testing that I should’ve,” she said in an interview with Global News on Dec. 1.
On Saturday, she held a rally outside Moncton’s city hall demanding the government improve the health-care system.
“I believe the government needs to act now,” she said, speaking to the crowd of about 40.
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Since sharing her story publicly, Gallant has been contacted by people who have had negative experiences in the province’s health-care system. In her speech, she read some of them out loud. She called directly on Premier Blaine Higgs to act.
“If you’re not able to do so, maybe it’s time you resign, and let somebody else who cares take the step,” she said.
This protest comes just one week after another one held by the Moncton Muslim Association in honour of a father of five who died while waiting for care at a Moncton hospital.
Abdal Khan, who is a close friend of the father and the president of the Moncton Muslim Association, came to the protest to support Gallant.
“Because people are dying. It’s not just one person, or one community. It’s affecting everybody,” he said in an interview at the rally.
Gallant said she doesn’t blame the health-care staff, adding that throughout her ordeal, it was clear the staff were under-resourced, overworked and burnt out.
She wants more investment in health care, a bigger focus on retention and a boost to the resources needed by those working within the system.
Overall, though, Gallant hopes her voice is being heard.
“Hoping things do change,” she said. “Trust your gut. Be very assertive and show them you mean business when you’re in medical distress.”
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