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The Alberta government ordered a review after a 44-year-old man died while waiting in an emergency department in Edmonton earlier this week.
Hospital and Surgical Health Services Minister Matt Jones, in a social media post, said he had directed Acute Care Alberta and Covenant Health to jointly review the circumstances and factors that led to the death of Prashanth Sreekumar at Gray Nuns Community Hospital last Monday.
Sreekumar, who was experiencing chest pain, died after allegedly waiting nearly eight hours to see a doctor in the emergency room.
The accountant was in his office when the chest pain started. His client took him to hospital, his wife, Niharika Sreekumar, told CBC News on Saturday.
She joined her husband while he waited. They spent most of their time in the waiting room while he complained of chest pain.
“The only time in his entire life in Canada that he needed that system, that treatment, that medical care, he was denied.”
She said her condition worsened while they waited. She believes his death was preventable and that he was not treated properly.
“I want justice for Prashanth.”
Varindar Bhullar, a family friend, said in a telephone interview that initial checks showed nothing abnormal, but that his blood pressure continued to rise. Prashanth Sreekumar died of suspected cardiac arrest soon after triage.
“It was completely avoidable. That’s the sad part,” Bhullar said.
“Sometimes we think it’s God’s wish, but this time I think humans could have intervened enough to save him.”
Bhullar remembered Prashanth Sreekumar as a good friend, a person who loved his family and lived an active life, often playing cricket.
Acute Care Alberta, a new provincial health agency, said it will participate in the review and implement the recommendations. He said the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has also launched an independent investigation.
CBC News has no information on how busy the emergency department was that day. Covenant Health said in a statement that it could not provide comment on specific details of a patient’s care for privacy reasons.
A family friend has organized a fundraiser for Prashanth Sreekumar’s family (three children aged three, 10 and 14, and his wife) to support them with their current needs. He was the sole breadwinner for the family, as his wife stayed home to care for one of their children with special needs.
Niharika Sreekumar said she was proud of her husband, who was a “superhero father” to their children.
“They’re missing him,” he said. “He provided them with everything they wanted. He had big plans.”
