Alberta orders fatality inquiry into death of man at Edmonton emergency room

A human demise enquiry has been ordered into the death of a 44-year-old adult male who died spell waiting to be seen by a doctor at an Edmonton emergency department.

At a news conference Thursday, Alberta’s minister of hospitals announced the independent, judge-led investigation as well the creation of a new triage liaison physician role at hospitals in Calgary and Edmonton.

Prashant Sreekumar, 44, died on Dec. 22 inside the emergency department of Edmonton’s Grey Nuns Community Hospital after allegedly waiting nearly eight hours to see a doctor about his chest pain. 

Matt Jones, Alberta's minister of hospital and surgical health services, said Thursday that the fatality inquiry is needed because there are answered questions about the case.

“While system-level improvements are underway, a detailed, independent and public review of how the specific case was managed also needs to be undertaken," he said. "We owe that to his family and to all Albertans.”

The fatality inquiry will issue public findings and recommendations, Jones said.

Jones said a quality assurance review completed by Acute Care Alberta following Sreekumar's death has already resulted in immediate changes to improve care on the front line.

A new pilot project will see new triage liaison physicians deployed in Alberta’ busiest emergency departments in Calgary and Edmonton, including at the Grey Nuns.

“There is no doubt that pressures in the system, and specifically at the Grey Nuns’ emergency department on Dec. 22, impacted care," Jones said.

The current strain on Alberta's emergency departments has prompted broad concern from physicians across the province who have called on the province to declare a formal emergency due to overcrowding.

Alberta health officials at the news conference said the strain has started to ease on the acute care system. Jones said hospitals, especially in Calgary and Edmonton, had experienced "significant pressure" in recent weeks.

He said officials believe the worst of the flu season is over and efforts to better manage elevated patient loads are working.

“Hospital and emergency department pressures are very real," Jones said. "Along with the seasonal rise in respiratory virus season, our high population growth, our aging and more medically complex population and even cold weather all exacerbate these pressures."

Earlier this week, the agency said it is working to create additional capacity with measures that include dedicating 336 beds for flu patients, accelerating patient discharges when possible and opening designated surge spaces to manage increased demand.

According to David Diamond, interim CEO of Acute Care Alberta, the inpatient occupancy in the province's large hospitals sits at 102 per cent, including temporary and surge spaces that are currently open to meet the elevated demand.

Respiratory virus hospital admissions are down from a peak of 995 at the end of December to 675 today, he said.

He said, despite some relief, the system is facing "sustained pressure" and it may take some time for the system to recover from the surge in patients.

Physicians have been calling for an urgent response to improve patient care as hospitals across the province contend with staffing and capacity issues. 

Dr. Paul Parks, president-elect of the section of emergency medicine with the Alberta Medical Association, has called for the provincial government to declare a state of emergency  to ensure patient loads are better managed.

Doctors have also called for better co-ordination and leadership within Alberta’s health-care system which has undergone sweeping restructuring.

In a statement issued Monday, the Alberta Medical Association said patient outcomes are suffering due to overflowing emergency departments

According to the association, Alberta hospitals have run over 110 per cent capacity for more than a year while the number of patients leaving the emergency department without being seen has increased approximately 77 per cent from 2019 to 2024.

Data for emergency departments in the seven major cities shows the average of the median wait times to see a doctor, for patients assessed as urgent, has increased 70 per cent from the end of 2022 to the end of 2025.

Reporter

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