On December 22, Prashant Sreekumar, a 44-year-old man of Indian origin, walked into the emergency room of Edmonton’s Grey Nuns Hospital complaining of severe chest pain. According to his family, despite repeated pleas, he was made to wait for nearly eight hours before receiving emergency care.
During the prolonged wait, Prashant remained in visible distress as his blood pressure continued to rise, reportedly touching 210. His family alleges that the only treatment he received during this period was doses of Tylenol to manage the pain.
When Prashant was finally taken in for emergency intervention, he collapsed and died within seconds. A video recorded at the hospital, which later went viral, shows his wife standing beside his body, accusing the hospital of negligence. “The hospital killed my husband by not giving him timely medical help,” she is heard saying.
Prashant’s death has once again drawn attention to mounting concerns over Canada’s strained healthcare system, particularly long wait times in emergency rooms. For years, patients and media reports across the country have flagged delays in emergency care. Indian students living in Canada have also shared similar experiences, with some reporting waits of up to 16 hours before being attended to.
Emergency medicine is guided by the concept of the “Golden Hour”, which stresses that patients facing serious illness or trauma have the best chance of survival if treated within the first hour. Viewed against this benchmark, Prashant’s eight-hour wait highlights serious lapses in emergency care and points to deeper structural issues within Canada’s healthcare system.
How Canada’s healthcare system works
Canada’s healthcare system is governed by the Canada Health Act of 1984, which laid the foundation for Medicare — a publicly funded, government-run system offering universal healthcare to citizens and permanent residents at no direct cost.
Medicare covers roughly 70 per cent of healthcare needs, while the remaining 30 per cent — including dental care, eye care, psychotherapy and some specialised treatments — is handled by private providers. These services are often paid for through public or private insurance. According to a report by The Washington Post, nearly 70 per cent of Canadians have some form of insurance coverage.
While the federal government sets national healthcare principles, regulates drugs and medical procedures, and provides funding to provinces, healthcare delivery is largely the responsibility of provincial and territorial governments. Provinces decide hospital funding, staffing levels, coverage under Medicare, and manage public insurance systems such as Ontario’s OHIP.
Data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information shows that Canada spent nearly $308 billion on healthcare in 2021, accounting for 12.7 per cent of its GDP. The OECD’s Health at a Glance 2025 report noted that Canada performs well on several indicators, including life expectancy, preventable mortality and healthcare spending. Surveys by Ipsos also suggest that about 56 per cent of Canadians are broadly satisfied with the public healthcare system.
Despite this, serious gaps persist — particularly in emergency care.
Where the system is falling short
One of the most pressing challenges is the shortage of primary care providers. A 2025 study by the Canadian Medical Association found that nearly 5.9 million Canadians — about one in five — lack access to family doctors, clinics or nurse practitioners. While 81 per cent of Canadians technically have access to primary care, only around 37.5 per cent are able to secure an urgent appointment within 24 hours.
This lack of access pushes patients to emergency rooms for even minor issues, significantly increasing ER volumes. According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, nearly 20 per cent of ER visits — about 16 million annually — involve conditions that could have been treated through primary care.
As a result, emergency rooms across the country are routinely operating beyond capacity. Reports by INFOnews indicate that ERs in Quebec are running at 120 per cent capacity, with some facilities reaching 200 per cent. Such overcrowding leads to dangerously long wait times.
The Canadian Medical Association reports that wait times for urgent patients now range between 6.5 and 8.5 hours, while non-urgent admissions can exceed 22 hours. The strain has also increased hospital stays, with nine out of ten ER-admitted patients spending more than 48.5 hours in hospital.
Delays extend beyond emergency care. A study by the Fraser Institute found that average wait times for medical procedures after GP referral rose to 30 weeks in 2024, up from just 9.3 weeks in 1995. Orthopaedic surgeries and neurosurgeries face the longest delays.
Compounding the problem is a growing shortage of medical professionals. OECD data shows Canada has just 2.8 practising physicians per 1,000 people, below the OECD average of 3.8. A 2022 federal report projected a shortfall of 78,000 doctors by 2031 and nearly 118,000 nurses by 2030.
Human cost of system strain
Speaking to India Today TV after Prashant’s death, Canadian journalist Rajinder Saini said ER wait times have stretched to between eight and 16 hours in many hospitals. He noted that rapid population growth due to immigration has not been matched by an increase in hospital beds, forcing many patients to leave without treatment.
International students are among the worst affected. An India Today Digital report found that lack of Medicare coverage and long waits often discourage students from seeking care. The CMA estimates that uninsured patients may pay up to CAD 260 for a clinic visit and around CAD 1,000 for an ER visit.
Data from Capital Daily shows that patients leaving ERs without being seen has risen sharply, with nearly 142,000 such cases reported in British Columbia alone between 2024 and 2025. CBC estimates suggest the number could be as high as 500,000 nationwide.
One such case mirrors Prashant’s tragedy. In 2024, 16-year-old Finlay van der Werken was taken to Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital with severe abdominal pain and classified as “emergent”. Despite this, he waited more than eight hours before being seen. By then, he had developed sepsis and later died of organ failure. His parents, like Prashant’s family, alleged negligence and took legal action.
Prashant Sreekumar’s death underscores the human cost of prolonged delays and systemic stress in Canada’s healthcare system. While Medicare promises universal access, overcrowded emergency rooms, staff shortages and long wait times continue to turn that promise into anguish for many families.