Case of Edmonton Father Who Died While Waiting in ER Sent to Chief Medical Examiner

A sign for a hospital in Montreal on Feb. 6, 2022. The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes

The case of a 44-year-old father of three who died while waiting at an Edmonton hospital emergency room has been handed over to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, according to hospital management.

Prashant Sreekumar had been complaining of chest pain and went to the Grey Nuns hospital on Dec. 22, his wife, Niharika, said in a video statement posted to social media.

She said his blood pressure “kept on rising,” with the last measurement at 210. The Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation says that blood pressure readings “consistently at or above 130/80 mmHg” are considered high.

Niharika Sreekumar said her husband was prescribed Tylenol while he waited in triage. She said he arrived around noon, and waited until 8:50 p.m. for care.

“They said that chest pain was not considered an acute problem. They did not suspect cardiac arrest when he came inside,” she said in the video.

She said Sreekumar stood up for a “fraction of a second” and then collapsed.

She blamed the hospital administration and staff for the death of her husband “by not providing him timely medical help.”

Covenant Health, which runs the Grey Nuns hospital, said that privacy regulations restrict what they can share, but provided a statement from Karen Macmillan, interim chief operating officer of acute and primary care, that confirms a 44-year-old man who was receiving care at the hospital died on Dec. 22.

Macmillan said they were “deeply saddened” over the incident and offered sympathy to the man’s family and friends, adding, “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family during this difficult time.”

“There is nothing more important than the safety and care of our patients and staff. While we are unable to provide comment on specifics surrounding the care of any patient due to privacy reasons, we can confirm the case is now with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner,” Macmillan said.

The Epoch Times attempted to reach the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner but did not hear back by publication time.

Fundraiser

A GoFundMe page has been started for Sreekumar’s wife and children, saying he was a “devoted husband, loving father of three, and a respected member of the community.”

“We are calling for a transparent and independent investigation so the family can receive clarity and answers, and so steps can be taken to prevent similar tragedies in the future,” the fundraiser said.

The funds raised were said to be for immediate expenses, ongoing family needs, and providing stability for Sreekumar’s children.

ER Deaths in Canada

There has been a number of other recent cases of patients dying while waiting for emergency care around Canada.

A 39-year-old Montreal man died of an aneurysm in early December 2024, a day after he left an emergency room after waiting for six hours to be treated.

Adam Burgoyne said in a Dec. 5, 2024, post on social media that he was put in the waiting room after staff at the hospital made sure he wasn’t dying. He said he left after waiting six hours. He died the next day of an aortic aneurysm, according to a Dec. 13 online obituary.

Data from Nova Scotia showed that emergency department deaths hit a six-year high in 2023, with 666 deaths recorded compared to 558 in 2022.

One of those was a 37-year-old mother of three who had waited seven hours to see a doctor. Allison Holthoff died on Dec. 31, 2022, after being taken to the emergency room.

Holthoff’s death came after that of 67-year-old Charlene, who died on Dec. 30, 2022, after waiting seven hours for medical help. She left the hospital after being told she would likely have to wait overnight to see a doctor. She died within an hour.

Manitoba Review

The Manitoba government called for a critical incident review in January after a middle-aged man died after waiting hours in an emergency department of the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg on Jan. 7. The man arrived at the hospital by ambulance but was deemed low acuity. He was checked on while he waited but his condition deteriorated to a point where they could not revive him.

At the time, Dr. Shawn Young, chief operating officer of the hospital, said they were treating about 100 patients.

Manitoba Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said that the government’s review findings will be shared, and the government will enact any changes needed to prevent similar situations.

Calls for Ontario Inquest

An Ontario family has called for an inquest into the death of a teen who had waited eight hours in an emergency room in 2024.

GJ and Hazel van der Werken, of Burlington, Ont., have called on the province to set limitations on emergency room wait times for children.

The couple said their 16-year-old son, Finlay, was taken to the hospital on Feb. 7, 2024, after suffering with a mild illness that got worse.

Finlay’s mother said the emergency room was filled with a lot of people and her son had been triaged as a level 2 patient, which indicated he required urgent care. The teen was left waiting for eight hours and 22 minutes, according to the couple.

The teen was assessed by a doctor and diagnosed with hypoxia, or low levels of oxygen in the tissue, and pneumonia caused by sepsis, which is the body’s extreme reaction to an infection.

He was transferred to a different hospital in Toronto and put on machines to take over the functions of his heart, lungs, and kidneys.

The family says they were informed that Finlay would not survive. The couple wrote in Finlay’s online obituary that they had to make “a decision that no parent should” and they agreed to turn off the teen’s life support.

The family has filed a lawsuit against hospital officials, alleging the teen died of a treatable medical condition.

Paul Rowan Brian contributed to this report.