Musk slams Canadian healthcare system after death of Indian-origin man awaiting treatment

New York: The US mega billionaire Elon Musk slammed the Canadian healthcare system following the death of an Indian-origin man due to suspected cardiac arrest while awaiting treatment for over eight hours at a hospital in Edmonton.

Prashant Sreekumar,44, an accountant, was taken to the hospital after he experienced severe chest pains while at work on December 22. At the hospital, he was checked in at triage and then made to sit in the waiting room.

After more than eight hours, when Prashant was finally called into the treatment area, he died within seconds in what was apparently a cardiac arrest, local media said.

 “When the government does medical care, it is about as good as the DMV,” posted Musk, who is known to voice his opinions on his social media platform Twitter.

Musk compared the Canadian healthcare system with the US Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

On Saturday, an Indian community leader drew attention to the inadequacy of hospital beds in Canada, leading to a late triage that resulted in the death of Prashant at Grey Nuns Hospital in Edmonton, the capital of Alberta province in northwest Canada.

Prashant’s wife, on Friday, demanded to see the staff at the facility held accountable, a media report said.

“I want justice for Prashant,” Niharika said in an interview with Postmedia.

“She wants to see hospital staff held accountable for the way her husband was treated in the emergency department,” Calgary Sun, one of the news outlets of the parent company Postmedia, said.

Meanwhile, family friend and Indian community leader Varinder Bhullar said Canada's health care system is deteriorating. “It's getting worse,” as compared to the time 30 years ago when he had come to Canada, he said.

Bhullar also pointed out how this was not an isolated incident and said that a lot of community members approach him for similar issues.