The Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) has launched legal action against the Georgetown Mayor and City Council, asking the High Court to compel municipal authorities to remove vendors operating around the country’s largest public health facility.
In a Fixed Date Application filed Tuesday, GPHC seeks court orders requiring the Town Clerk and City Council to remove food vendors, carts, stalls and other obstructions from streets surrounding the hospital, including Lamaha, East, Middle and New Market streets. The hospital says the longstanding presence of vendors has worsened and was repeatedly ignored by city authorities.
Court documents allege that the encumbrances have impeded ingress to and egress from the hospital’s facilities, hampering access for emergency vehicles and the movement of patients and staff. The filing also states that vendors regularly leave garbage and debris along pavements, further undermining public health and safety.
GPHC says it repeatedly requested municipal intervention over the past year, sending letters to City Hall in April, May and again in January, but that promised action failed to materialise. The hospital cites assurances from the Mayor and City Council in 2024 that the issue would be addressed, but says follow-up was inadequate. After a final warning in January 2026 demanding removal of all vendors within three days, the hospital says the situation persisted, leaving it no choice but to seek judicial relief.
While City Hall has carried out periodic removal exercises in the past, those efforts were short-lived, the hospital’s filing notes, with vendors returning soon after enforcement. GPHC argues this pattern demonstrates a failure by the council to enforce its own by-laws and statutory duties under the Municipal and District Councils Act.
The application asks the court to declare the council’s obligations to keep public roads and pavements clear as non-discretionary and to order municipal authorities to perform those duties, particularly in the critical area surrounding a major public hospital. GPHC further states it cannot pursue individual vendors because it lacks the necessary particulars and that enforcement responsibility properly rests with the City Constabulary and municipal officials.
Beyond legal remedies, the hospital warns that ongoing congestion poses a direct threat to public safety by obstructing urgent medical access. GPHC says the orders sought will restore public order around the hospital and benefit residents across Georgetown.
The matter is expected to be heard in the High Court in the coming weeks. The Georgetown Mayor and City Council did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
