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New Delhi: Tesla CEO and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has hit out the Canada healthcare system after an Indian-origin man Prashant Sreekumar with
severe chest pain died waiting for treatment at a hospital in Southeast Edmonton. The incident involves a 44-year-old Prashant Sreekumar, who died of suspected cardiac arrest after waiting for more than eight hours for treatment in hospital's emergency room area, PTI reports said. Reacting to the incident, Elon Musk took to X, formerly Twitter and compared Canada's healthcare system to United States Department of Motor Vehicles which is infamous for its inefficiency. In his post, Musk wrote, "When the government does medical care, it is about as good as the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles).”
Musk made this remark while reacting to an X post by RTN Toronto, a page that posts Canada and Toronto related content. The RTN had mentioned about Indian origin man’s death.
ALSO READ | ‘Could Have Stayed in Mumbai’: US Influencer Sparks Outrage Over Indian Man’s Death in Canada
What happened with Prashant Sreekumar at Canada Hospital
Prashanth began experiencing severe chest pains while at work on December 22. 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) to check his heart’s function, but the family said Prashant was told there was nothing of significance and to keep waiting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_ZHZds7gZk
Prashant's Bloop Pressure Kept Increasing 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. It Was Too Late When Prashant Called For Treatment “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. ALSO READ |'Killed My Husband': Heartbroken Wife of Prashant Sreekumar Blames Canadian Hospital for Husband's Tragic Death
MEA Reacts To Indian-origin Man Death In Canada
Responding to a question on Prashant's death, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in New Delhi that he was a Canadian citizen and the government there should look into the matter.
"The person is of Indian origin but he happens to be, I understand, a Canadian national. So the Canadian government should take responsibility in the matter," he said at a media briefing.
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 person than him,'” Kumar said.
Prashant Family Questions Canadian Healthcare System
Family and friends want answers on how 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.
Prashant's Wife Question's Negligence
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 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 the 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.
With inputs from PTI
