Elon Musk is lashing out at Canada’s health-care system after an Edmonton father died in an hospital emergency room following an eight-hour wait to see a doctor.
“When the government does medical care, it is about as good as the DMV,” Musk wrote on X as he reshared a video that showed the man’s wife recapping her husband’s death.
According to a report published by Global News, Prashant Sreekuma experienced chest pains while at work on Monday, Dec. 22, and was taken to Grey Nuns Hospital in southeast Edmonton.
His father, Kumar, said his son “told him and hospital staff the pain was a 15 out of 10.”
Staff reportedly did an electrocardiogram (ECG) and told Sreekuma’s family that “there was nothing of significance and to keep waiting.” He was given Tylenol to help manage his pain.
When he was eventually seen his father said that his son died of an apparent heart attack.
“After sitting maybe 10 seconds, he looked at me, he got up and put his hand on his chest and just crashed,” Kumar said.
Wife describes what happened
Sreekuma’s wife appeared inconsolable in a video that was shared to social media and has been viewed more than 9.3 million times. In it, she said her husband arrived at the hospital at 12:20 p.m. and wasn’t seen by a doctor until 8:50 p.m.
“He was complaining of constant chest pains,” she said. “His blood pressure was constantly rising … He was only prescribed Tylenol during the entire waiting time he was outside and he was not given help. They said that chest pain is not considered an acute problem.”
Sreekum’s wife said he collapsed and fainted while waiting in the ER. “So basically, the hospital administration (and) the employees at Grey Nuns Hospital have basically killed my husband, Prashant Sreekuma, by not providing him with timely medical help.”
She went on to accuse hospital security of calling her “rude.”
“Basically, it’s OK for them to kill a human being,” she continued.
Musk commented on another post of the video, promising followers that his generative AI tool Grok and Telsa’s humanoid robot Optimus will provide better care in the future.
“Government healthcare is like having the DMV as your doctor,” the tech billionaire reiterated. “Grok and Optimus will provide incredible healthcare for all,” he wrote.
Comedian Rob Schneider made fun of Canada’s taxpayer-funded model in a scathing tweet. “Canada has equal opportunity health care for ALL its citizens, regardless of their race, ethnicity, religion or gender confusion: ALL Canadians have the RIGHT to die waiting in the hospital to get help,” he said in a post resharing a video of Sreekuma’s distraught wife.
Hospital responds to death
In a statement to Postmedia, Covenant Health, which runs Grey Nuns Hospital, said they were “unable to provide comment on specifics,” but added that Sreekuma “was receiving care.”
“We are deeply saddened regarding the death of a 44-year-old male patient at the Grey Nuns Community Hospital in Edmonton on December 22, 2025,” Karen Macmillan, who is the chief operating officer of acute and primary care, said in a statement. “We offer our sympathy to the patient’s family and friends. There is nothing more important than the safety and care of our patients and staff.”
Macmillan said the case is now with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family during this difficult time,” she added.
Earlier this year, the National Post ran a story headlined, “More than 74,000 Canadians have died on health care wait lists since 2018.”
A staggering 15,474 Canadians died in 2023-24 alone before receiving various surgeries or diagnostic scans, the article added.