‘I cannot bear the pain’: Indian-origin man dies after eight-hour wait in Canada hospital

An Indian-origin man died after waiting more than eight hours for treatment at an emergency department in southeast Edmonton, raising questions over triage and patient care.

Prashant Sreekumar, 44, developed severe chest pain while at work on December 22 and was driven by a client to Grey Nuns Hospital, according to Global News. He was registered at triage and asked to wait. His father, Kumar Sreekumar, arrived shortly afterwards.

“He told me, ‘Papa, I cannot bear the pain,’” Kumar said, adding that his son rated the pain as “15 out of 10”. An electrocardiogram was performed, but the family said Prashant was told there was nothing significant and advised to continue waiting. He was offered Tylenol for relief.

As the hours passed, nurses periodically checked his blood pressure. “It went up, up, and up. To me, it was through the roof,” Kumar said. More than eight hours later, Prashant was finally called into the treatment area.

“After sitting maybe 10 seconds, he looked at me, he got up and put his hand on his chest and just crashed,” Kumar said. Despite staff calling for help, Prashant died of an apparent cardiac arrest.

He is survived by his wife and three children, aged three, 10 and 14. Family members described him as devoted and playful with his children. “He was for his family, for his kids, he was so nice,” Kumar said. “Anybody who talked to him said, ‘We don’t know a better than him.’”

Friends and relatives are seeking clarity on how a patient with severe chest pain could deteriorate while waiting in an emergency room. Family friend Varinder Bhullar, who used Prashant’s accounting services, called the death “a huge loss for the community”. “We expect better from the hospital and health-care system,” he said.

The hospital is operated by Covenant Health, which said it could not comment on specific patient care due to privacy rules. The organisation confirmed the case is before the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and added, “We offer our sympathy to the patient’s family and friends. There is nothing more important than the safety and care of our patients and staff.”

As the family mourns, they say they are haunted by the circumstances of his death. “They took my baby for nothing. For nothing,” Kumar said.