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New Delhi: In a deeply distressing incident, the wife of an Indian-origin man who died after allegedly waiting for nearly eight hours at a hospital in Canada’s Alberta province has accused the hospital of negligence, claiming the delay in treatment led to his death.
The deceased, identified as Prashant Sreekumar, reportedly complained of acute chest pain around noon (local time) on Monday, December 22. According to his wife, he was immediately taken to Gray Nuns Hospital in southeast Edmonton.
In a video circulating on social media, Sreekumar’s wife alleged that he arrived at the hospital around 12:20 pm and remained seated in the triage area until nearly 8:50 pm without receiving proper medical attention. During this period, she said, he repeatedly complained of severe pain.
She claimed that despite his blood pressure rising continuously—reaching as high as 210—the hospital staff only administered Tylenol. For reference, normal blood pressure in healthy adults is typically below 120/80 mmHg.
“They told us chest pain was not considered an acute problem and said they did not suspect a cardiac arrest,” she said. According to her account, when Sreekumar was finally taken inside, he was asked to sit down. “He stood up for a fraction of a second and collapsed. He fainted, and I heard a nurse say she could not feel a pulse,” she added.
Sreekumar’s wife further alleged that the hospital administration and staff at Gray Nuns Hospital were responsible for her husband’s death due to the lack of timely medical care. She also claimed that security personnel behaved rudely instead of addressing the situation and said she intends to pursue legal action.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday confirmed that Sreekumar was of Indian origin but a Canadian national. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the responsibility in the matter rests with the Canadian government.
Prashant’s father, Kumar Sreekumar, arrived at the hospital after his son was brought there by a client. Quoting him, PTI reported that Prashant had told him, “Papa, I cannot bear the pain.”
Kumar said his son repeatedly informed hospital staff that his pain level was “15 out of 10.” He added that nurses were checking his blood pressure periodically, which continued to rise. “It kept going up and up. To me, it was through the roof,” he said.
Speaking emotionally about his son, Kumar described him as a devoted family man. “He lived for his family and his children. Anyone who knew him would say they had never met a better person,” he said.
