Canada launches probe into death of Indian-origin man Prashant Sreekumar in hospital waiting for treatment
According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, waiting times for initial assessments in emergency departments have been climbing across the country.
3 min readDec 30, 2025 07:21 PM IST
First published on: Dec 30, 2025 at 07:21 PM IST
Sreekumar waited at the ER for over eight hours before he collapsed and died. (Photo: Instagram)
Authorities in the Canadian province of Alberta have launched a probe into the death of Prashant Sreekumar, an Indian-origin man who died in an Edmonton hospital last week, while waiting for treatment.
Probe into Indian-origin man’s death
“Acute Care Alberta is leading a comprehensive review into the circumstances surrounding Mr. Sreekumar’s death, with Covenant Health participating,” CTV News reported, citing a statement from the Ministry of Hospital and Surgical Health Services on Monday,. “This review is being conducted in addition to an independent investigation by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.”
According to The Globe and Mail, while Alberta’s Chief Medical Examiner, which investigates sudden or unexplained deaths, is also conducting a review, the provincial government will not be conducting either a judicial or public inquiry.
Sreekumar’s wife, Niharika, has blamed the Grey Nuns Hospital for her husband’s death. (Photo: Covenant Health)
What happened to Sreekumar?
Sreekumar, a 44-year-old father of three, died on December 22 at the Grey Nuns Community Hospital in southeast Edmonton, where he was seeking treatment after complaining about chest pain.
His family alleged that Sreekumar waited at the ER for over eight hours and sought help from the hospital staff multiple times as his pain was becoming unbearable.
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Sreekumar underwent an electrocardiogram (ECG), but was told no significant issue was detected. He was given pain medication in the form of a Tylenol tablet and asked to wait, even as his condition worsened.
By the time Sreekumar was called in to see the doctor, it was too late, and he collapsed and died due to an apparent cardiac arrest.
Waiting times for initial assessments in emergency departments have been climbing across Canada. (Photo: Unsplash)
Sreekumar’s wife, Niharika, has blamed the Grey Nuns Hospital for her husband’s death.
“They have ripped us off. They have ripped us off emotionally, physically and financially, in every manner they have ripped us off,” she told CTV News. “I would like to sit across the table and talk to them. This is something I need answers for and I am not going to stop.”
Following the tragic death of Sreekumar, the spotlight is back on the increase in emergency room wait times in Canada.
CTV News, citing data from Alberta Health Services, reported that most hospitals in the Edmonton area are seeing an average wait time of several hours.
According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, waiting times for initial assessments in emergency departments have been climbing across the country. In 2024-25, the average wait was 5½ hours for an initial assessment, data showed.
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Sreekumar waited at the ER for over eight hours before he collapsed and died. (Photo: Instagram) 
