EDMONTON, Canada, Dec 26— The family of a 44-year-old Indian-origin man who died after waiting more than eight hours in a hospital emergency room is seeking answers about how his severe chest pain went untreated until it was too late.
Prashant Sreekumar collapsed and died of an apparent cardiac arrest on Dec. 22 shortly after being called into a treatment area at Grey Nuns Hospital in southeast Edmonton, according to Global News.
Sreekumar had been experiencing intense chest pain while at work and was driven to the hospital by a client. After checking in at triage, he was asked to sit in the waiting room, where he remained for hours, his family said.
“My son kept saying the pain was unbearable,” his father, Kumar Sreekumar, said. “He told them it was a 15 out of 10.”
The family said hospital staff performed an electrocardiogram but told Prashant the results showed no immediate concern. He was advised to continue waiting and was offered Tylenol for pain.
Kumar said nurses monitored his son’s blood pressure during the wait and that it continued to rise.
More than eight hours after arriving at the hospital, Prashant was called in for treatment. Moments later, he collapsed in front of his father.
“He put his hand on his chest and just crashed,” Kumar said.
Nurses called for emergency assistance, but Prashant could not be revived.
Family friend Varinder Bhullar said the death has left the community shaken.
“We expect better from the hospital and health-care system,” Bhullar said. “This is a huge loss.”
Prashant is survived by his wife and three children. Relatives described him as a loving father who enjoyed traveling with his family and was known for his warm personality.
Covenant Health, which operates Grey Nuns Hospital, said in an emailed statement that the case has been referred to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
“We offer our sympathy to the patient’s family and friends,” the statement said. “There is nothing more important than the safety and care of our patients and staff.”
The family said they are struggling to reconcile his death with the fact that he died in a hospital without ever seeing a doctor
