A grieving widow’s emotional account of her husband’s final hours has triggered widespread outrage after a 44-year-old Indian-origin man died of a suspected cardiac arrest following an over eight-hour wait for treatment at a hospital in Canada.
In a video that has gone viral on social media, Niharika, the wife of the deceased Prashant Sreekumar, is seen standing beside her husband’s body, blaming hospital authorities for what she described as a fatal delay in care at Grey Nuns Community Hospital in Edmonton.
Recounting the ordeal, she said her husband complained of acute chest pain around noon on Monday, December 22, and was brought to the hospital by 12.20 pm. “He was sitting in triage from 12.20 till about 8.50 at night, constantly complaining of chest pain,” she said, alleging that his blood pressure kept rising and was last recorded at 210. According to her, Prashant was only given Tylenol during the entire waiting period and was told that chest pain was not being treated as an acute emergency.
“He was finally called in after more than eight hours. He was asked to sit down, got up for a fraction of a second, collapsed, and a nurse said she could not feel a pulse,” Niharika said, accusing the hospital administration of negligence. Prashant could not be revived and was declared dead, leaving behind his wife and three children aged three, 10 and 14.
Earlier, Prashant’s father, Kumar Sreekumar, told Global News that his son repeatedly told hospital staff that his pain was “15 out of 10”. He said an electrocardiogram (ECG) was conducted, but the family was told there was nothing of concern and they were asked to continue waiting. “He told me, ‘Papa, I cannot bear the pain,’” Kumar Sreekumar said.
According to the family, nurses periodically checked Prashant’s blood pressure during the wait, but no further intervention was made. He was eventually taken into the emergency treatment area, where he collapsed moments later and suffered an apparent cardiac arrest.
The Grey Nuns Community Hospital is operated by the Covenant Health healthcare network. In a statement to Global News, the organisation declined to comment on specific details of patient care, citing privacy concerns, but said the incident is under review by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
“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,” the statement said.
The incident has raised serious questions about emergency healthcare response times and triage protocols in Canada, particularly amid growing concerns over delays in emergency departments.