$18m medical lab planned

An artist's impression of the new state-of-the-art laboratory Pathlab is building at Tauranga Hospital. Photo / Supplied

Pathlab is set to build an $18 million facility so it can consolidate its city laboratories.

Chief executive Dianne McQueen said the new laboratory would be located on the Tauranga Hospital campus where Jacaranda House once sat, with stage one completion targeted for September 2015.

Provisions had also been made to accommodate a future mortuary which would service the region. According to the Bay of Plenty District Health Board, the mortuary could be used for coroner-requested post mortems.

Pathlab took over the management of the Tauranga Hospital laboratory in 1996 and has been spread over three sites across the city.

"Whilst we have adapted our systems very satisfactorily ... we now have the opportunity to consolidate all our current laboratory locations into one purpose-built facility."

Pathlab Bay of Plenty processes, specimens from up to 2000 patients per day, in one of the fastest growing regions in New Zealand, she said.

The new facility was being privately constructed to provide comprehensive state-of-the-art laboratory services for Tauranga Hospital and the Bay of Plenty community.

"The purpose-designed building has a projected completion cost of $18m and will house 2500sq m of specialist diagnostic laboratory services."

Mrs McQueen said the laboratory was designed to international standards for full compliance and would incorporate a number of advanced features for energy efficiency, functionality and advanced building and medical technologies.

Bay of Plenty District Health Board chief executive Phil Cammish said the DHB was not funding any part of the project and had no involvement, "except leasing the land on which it is being built".

Mr Cammish believed the arrangement would be beneficial to both parties. "It's a great benefit in particular to have the pathologists on site allowing, as it does, for more collegial conversations to take place. Pathlab believes consolidation of the existing facilities will allow for more efficient processing of both hospital and community samples."

He said Tauranga Hospital did not not have a mortuary. "All post mortems are currently carried out at either Rotorua, Hamilton or Auckland."

There was demand for coroner-requested post mortems, he said.

"Its predominant use is for coronial post mortems.

"Tauranga Hospital would not anticipate there being more than a few hospital requested post mortems per year."

Tauranga Chamber of Commerce chief executive Dave Burnett said Pathlab obviously had confidence in Tauranga and the region. "That really reinforces the great things that have been happening around the city ..." Construction of the facility would also create jobs in the building industry, Mr Burnett said.