A family is in mourning after a 44-year-old father of three died in the emergency room waiting room of an Edmonton hospital.
On Monday, December 22, Prashant Sreekumar began experiencing severe chest pain while working.
The client took him to Gray Nuns Hospital in southeast Edmonton, where Sreekumar was checked into triage and then took a seat in the waiting room. Soon his father, Kumar Sreekumar, arrived.
“He told me, ‘Dad, I can’t stand the pain,’” Kumar said.
“I'm in so much pain.”
Kumar said his son told him and hospital staff that the pain was a 15 out of 10. They gave him an electrocardiogram (ECG) to check his heart function, but the family said Prashant was told it was nothing significant and to keep waiting.
The staff also offered Prashant some Tylenol for the pain.
Receive weekly health news
Get the latest medical news and health information every Sunday.
He waited and waited some more.
Kumar said nurses will check Prashant's blood pressure over time.
“It kept getting higher and higher. It was beyond me.”
More than eight hours passed before Prashant was called to the treatment ward.
“After sitting there for about 10 seconds, he looked at me, stood up, put his hand on his chest and just crashed,” Kumar said.
“At that moment he died.”
The nurses called for help, but it was too late. Prashant died of apparent cardiac arrest.
Prashant is survived by his wife and three children aged three, 10 and 14. The family enjoyed traveling together and said Prashant was a “fool” with his children.
“He was for his family, for his children, he was so sweet. Anyone who talked to him said, 'We don't know anyone better than him,'” Kumar said.
Family and friends want answers to how a man with severe chest pain could fall from action in such a shocking way.
Family friend Varinder Bhullar, who wanted to avail Prashant's accounting services, said it was a huge loss to the community. He is devastated by what happened.
“We expect better from hospitals and the health care system,” Bhullar said.
“This shouldn’t happen to anyone else in the community.”
Gray Nuns Hospital is operated by Covenant Health.
The organization told Global News in an email that it would not comment on the specifics of patient care due to privacy concerns, but said the case was being reviewed by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
“We extend our sympathies to the patient's family and friends. Nothing is more important than the safety and care of our patients and staff,” the statement said.
The family is trying to remember Prashant for all the good he brought to them, and say they will always be haunted by how he died in pain – in hospital – without ever seeing a doctor.
“They took my child for no reason. No reason,” Kumar said.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
