Alberta hospitals must admit patients to prevent ER backlogs, says review into Edmonton man's death
CBC
To help prevent a backlog of patients in emergency rooms, Alberta hospitals should not cap the number of patients who can be admitted to wards, says a review completed in the wake of a 44-year-old Edmonton man’s death in an ER.
Acute Care Alberta (ACA) released a list of 16 recommendations on Thursday after investigating the circumstances surrounding Prashant Sreekumar’s death on Dec. 22 in the Grey Nuns Community Hospital ER. The report confirms his family’s account that he waited eight hours with chest pain before having a “critical cardiovascular event.”
In a news release, ACA said the quality assurance review outlines “systemic improvements that can be made both at the site and across the acute care system to help promote better outcomes and prevent similar events from occurring.”
It is not intended to cast blame.
The report, which does not name Sreekumar, said the patient received care through a “nurse-initiated protocol,” and was moved to a treatment space after waiting for eight hours. It is unclear if a physician saw him.
Prashant Sreekumar’s widow, Niharika Sreekumar, told CBC News she is not satisfied with the recommendations, and that she believes they are unlikely to help anybody because there will be loopholes, a concern she declined to elaborate on.
She described how Prashant was given ibuprofen after arriving at the ER and never got the chance to see a doctor.
“We took him to the treatment [space]. He sat down on the couch. He got up, he said, ‘Niharika, I’m dizzy,’ and he collapsed right in my hands,” Niharika said.
“I live that nightmare every single second.”
She said no one from the Alberta government has reached out to her.
“If they are ready to face me, then I’m also ready to face them," Niharika said. "And we’re going to talk then, because this report is a joke of Prashant’s death.”
The mother of three said it has been gut-wrenching losing her husband.
“Had it not been for my children, I honestly wished I could have died that same night with Prashant,” she said.
The three-page report is dated Jan. 14, 2026. On Jan. 15, Hospital and Surgical Health Services Minister Matt Jones held a news conference with ACA officials. They announced Alberta's government has ordered a fatality inquiry into Sreekumar’s death, as Jones had “questions that need to be answered.”
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