Te Papa Hauora, the Christchurch Health Precinct, is a
key anchor project in the Christchurch Central Recovery Plan - bringing together
people and facilities. The Precinct will foster and develop partnerships and
collaborations that drive innovation across the areas of health research,
health professional education and development and clinical services.
Development of the Precinct is being led by The Health
Precinct Advisory Council - a strategic leadership group comprising senior
leaders of the tertiary health and education sectors: Canterbury District
Health Board, University of Otago, University of Canterbury, and Ara Institute
of Canterbury, working in partnership with Matapopore (the Canterbury Ngāi
Tūāhuriri earthquake recovery group) and the Crown.
The Precinct will make a real long-term contribution
to the economic well-being of Christchurch by attracting top quality
researchers, businesses, students, health sector workers and associated staff
to live and work in the city – indeed it will be a real magnet for talent.
Working with big data is key, as is more effectively
linking the health system with industry to commercialise health technology,
products and services. Importantly - given that proximity matters for
innovation - opportunities exist for businesses to physically co-locate into
the Precinct.
It will be simpler and easier for the business sector
and collaborators to engage with Health through a single “front door” that
provides immediate and coherent access to the capabilities residing in the
Precinct.
The New Zealand Health Research Strategy released in
June 2017 nicely sits alongside the Health Precinct’s research strategy, and
will facilitate Precinct partners and collaborators to further drive innovation
in the Precinct. Government strategy actions
identified include more funding to support transformative and innovative ideas;
creating industry partnerships, and strengthening infrastructure to support the
translation of research into products and services that improve health
outcomes.
Canterbury has a strong tradition of clinical research
and of collegial links with industry and clinicians who are interested in new
ways of doing things. Features that set Christchurch apart from other centres
include a single teaching hospital; a single medical school and a single funder
of health – making Christchurch an ideal location for research. Additionally,
Christchurch researchers are considered to be ‘friendlies’ to the industry and
are proven to be innovative and responsive. Examples include the highly
successful MARS programme where clinicians and researchers have collaborated to
develop a world first colour CT scanner, recently commissioning the prototype
for small animals in the US. The B&M Gates Foundation use Canterbury Health
Laboratories as a reference lab for their developing countries vaccination
programmes.
Christchurch also has strong Māori research capacity
at the Ngāi Tahu Research Centre based at the University of Canterbury, and
Otago University’s Maori and Indigenous Health Institute. Engagement with these
Centres together with Ngāi Tahu’s Hauora programme will help to identify new
opportunities for innovation in Māori health research, workforce development
and education.
The Health Research Education Facility (HREF)
currently under construction will co-locate health education, professional
development, and research activities into a purpose-built facility designed to
maximise opportunities for collaboration and innovation. Ara’s undergraduate
nursing, radiography and midwifery students, and UC’s postgraduate health
science students will relocate into the HREF. The HREF will set the stage for
partners and collaborators to create a truly unique and innovative health
education and research environment that will be of international interest.
This is another good example of how the city is
changing its offering and capability as it faces a bright future.
