A new proposal could see education and health come together on campus at Northland's largest tertiary provider.
NorthTec has formed a consortium with Raumanga Medical Centre, Otaika Pharmacy, Manaia Primary Health Organisation and Northland DHB and the organisations were looking to attract a developer keen to build an integrated healthcarefacility on NorthTec's Raumanga Campus.
A request for a proposal currently out for tender said the proposed two-floor facility could incorporate general practice, a pharmacy, physiotherapy and osteopathy alongside teaching and learning spaces. The facility would likely have about 28.5 fulltime staff including seven doctors and would help cater for increasing demand at Raumanga Medical Centre, which had been operating at capacity.
Manaia PHO chief executive Chris Farrelly said in a letter supporting the project that the idea was solidified at a inter-agency meeting last year, and that the tender process was the next step to making it a reality. However, the idea had been in work for several years.
"There was considerable enthusiasm and support for this project and the opportunity it would provide for the wider Raumanga community," he said.
The developer would bear all costs of the build, and NorthTec would lease the land at peppercorn rental. The tender would close on November 20, with a contract anticipated to start early next year.
It comes after Northland Regional Council announced it was investigating an integrated health facility at the lot it owned at Kensington, that formerly contained the Countdown supermarket. While the projects sounded similar on paper, they were not related, a spokeswoman for NorthTec said.
NRC chief executive Malcolm Nicolson confirmed Griffiths & Associates had been hired to investigate the Kensington precinct idea.
