‘Papa, I cannot bear pain’, Indian-origin man dies after 8-hour wait at Canada hospital

A 44-year-old Indian-origin man has died of suspected cardiac arrest after waiting for more than eight hours for treatment in a Canadian hospital’s emergency room area, a media report has said. Prashant Sreekumar began experiencing severe chest pains while at work on December 22, Global News reported on Wednesday. A client drove him to the Grey Nuns Hospital in southeast Edmonton, where Prashant was checked in at triage and then took a seat in the waiting room.

His father, Kumar Sreekumar, soon arrived. “He told me, ‘Papa, I cannot bear the pain,’” Kumar said. Kumar said his son told him and hospital staff the pain was a 15 out of 10. They did an electrocardiogram (ECG) on him to check his heart’s function, but the family said Prashant was told there was nothing of significance and to keep waiting. Staff also offered Prashant some Tylenol for his pain. He waited, and waited some more. Kumar said as time passed, nurses would check Prashant’s blood pressure.

“It went up, up, and up. To me, it was through the roof.” More than eight hours went by before Prashant was 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. Nurses called for help but it was too late. Prashant died of an apparent cardiac arrest, the report added. Prashant leaves behind his wife, and three children ages three, 10 and 14.

The family loved to travel together and said Prashant was a “goofball” with his kids. “He was for his family, for his kids, he was so nice. Anybody who talked to him said, ‘We don’t know a better than him,’” Kumar said. Family and friends want answers over how could a man with severe chest pain could fall through the cracks in such a shocking way.

A video has been circulating on social media that shows Prashant’s wife narrating the hours-long ordeal. In the video, she is claiming that his blood pressure had risen to 210 even as he sat in the waiting room and that he was only offered Tylenol despite complaining of “unbearable” pain. “They said that chest pain is not considered an acute problem, they do not suspect a cardiac arrest,” his wife said.

Family friend Varinder Bhullar, who who would use Prashant’s accounting services, said this is a huge loss for the community. He is devastated at what happened. “We expect better from the hospital and health-care system,” Bhullar said. The Grey Nuns Hospital is run by Covenant Health. The organisation told Global News in an email that it wouldn’t comment on the specifics surrounding patient care because of privacy, but did say the case is before 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. As family try to remember Prashant for all the good he brought them, they say they will always be haunted by how he died in pain — in a hospital — without ever seeing a doctor. “They took my baby for nothing. For nothing,” Kumar said. Prashant Sreekumar.