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Elon Musk slams Canadian healthcare system over Indian-origin man's death: ‘As good as DMV’
Prashant Sreekumar died at Canadian hospital after he experience sharp pain in chest but was asked to wait for hours before receiving emergency treatment.
Billionaire Elon Musk slammed the Canadian healthcare system on Friday while reacting to the death of an Indian-origin man who died of alleged medical negligence while waiting for over eight hours for treatment at a hospital in Canada.
“When the government does medical care, it is about as good as the DMV,” Musk wrote on X (formerly Twitter) as he sought to compare healthcare systems run by government to Department of Motor Vehicles of the United States, which reportedly received criticism over being inefficient.
Musk made the remark while quoting a post that read the wife of the man “was told she was being rude after her husband died while waiting to be seen in the ER for over 8 hours with chest pain.”
The tragic incident happened earlier this week on Monday when 44-year-old Indian-origin man, Prashant Sreekumar, died after he reportedly had to wait for over eight hours before receiving treatment in a hospital in Canada's Edmonton. The man was repeatedly complaining of acute chest pain.
Sreekumar, a father of three, died at Grey Nuns Community Hospital in Canada after he experience sharp pain in chest at work and was taken to hospital where he was asked to wait for hours, reported Global News. However, he died waiting to see a doctor in emergency.
His father recalled that Sreekumar told him the pain was unbearable. “He told me, ‘Papa, I cannot bear the pain,'” he said, according to the report.
On Friday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) reacted to Sreekumar's death and said that the Canadian government should take responsibility in the matter.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal confirmed that the victim was a Canadian national of Indian-origin and said during a press briefing, “The person is of Indian origin, but he happens to be Canadian national. So, obviously the government of Canada should take responsibility in this particular matter.”
Calling the incident an "unfortunate incident", Jaiswal said, “We extend our deepest condolences and are coordinating with local authorities to understand the circumstances surrounding the death. Our consulate is providing all possible assistance to the family.”
