MLA Ameet Satam Urges BMC to Improve Staff Conduct and Facilities at Cooper Hospital in Juhu
Mumbai BJP president and MLA Ameet Satam has raised serious concerns over the treatment of patients at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation-run Dr RN Cooper Hospital in Juhu, calling for urgent staff sensitisation and major upgrades to healthcare infrastructure.
In a letter addressed to Mayor Ritu Tawde and BMC chief Ashwini Bhide on Friday, Satam stated that patients at the Juhu facility were being treated in a despicable manner. He demanded soft-skills training, sensitisation, and capacity-building programmes for doctors, nurses, paramedical staff, security personnel, and other hospital employees to improve their conduct towards patients. The communication followed a meeting between Satam, the Cooper Hospital dean, and senior civic health officials.
Satam also highlighted critical delays in medical equipment procurement, noting that Cooper Hospital had been deprived of digital radiography equipment for nearly two years. He explained that a tender for mobile digital radiography machines floated in September 2024 received only one bidder, prompting instructions for re-tendering in April 2025. However, the civic department kept the matter pending until March 2026, when a decision was taken to procure equipment via the GeM portal. Even after that, the department insisted on awarding the contract to the single bidder.
Because of these procedural delays, both Cooper Hospital and Sion Hospital went without digital machines for two years, Satam stated, demanding that the equipment be commissioned immediately and an inquiry be initiated into the delay.
Additionally, the legislator urged the civic administration to expedite the operationalisation of the proposed chemotherapy centre, for which tenders have already been floated, to serve cancer patients. He also requested arrangements for a separate ward to admit out-born paediatric cases.
Satam further called for permanent Maharashtra Security Force personnel to be deployed at the hospital by October 1, 2026, and for required staff vacancies across departments to be filled within three months. This includes expanding the capacity of the dialysis centre from the current six beds to 20.
Criticising the hospital's upkeep and cleanliness, Satam asked the civic body to float a fresh housekeeping tender under the quality-cum-cost-based selection system with strict accountability clauses.
