Council endorsement of City Deal Business Case for the School of Medicine and Personalised Medicine
25 March 2024
Today, Derry City and Strabane District Council gave their support to the Outline Business Case for the School of Medicine and Personalised Medicine Centre. The details were provided to Elected Members attending a Special Full Council meeting at the Guildhall, that was held to provide an update in relation to this key element of the Derry~Londonderry Strabane City Deal.
A detailed progress report was presented at the meeting where details were provided of proposals for the expansion of the three partner clinical research facility, C-TRIC as well as the development of future research on the Magee site to build a new School of Medicine/Personalised Medicine Centre, to be primarily located on an existing vacant site adjacent to the Council offices on the Strand Road/Riverfront, along with built educational facilities at Altnagelvin Hospital campus.
The presentation outlined how the School of Medicine and Personalised Medicine Centre project has been designed to enhance the ability to provide integrated teaching and research facilities at Ulster University Magee Campus and at the Altnagelvin Hospital site. The Outline Business Case has been jointly developed by Ulster University, Western Health and Social Care Trust and DCSDC.
The expansion of C-TRIC will grow Clinical Academic Partnerships attracting high quality personnel to the Western Trust and improving the quality of healthcare provision. The proposal comes in three components – the first one is for Teaching and Research Accommodation at Ulster University’s campus at Magee, which will comprise a new build accommodation and equipment to host the annual intake of medical students and associated teaching laboratory space and equipment for Personalised Medical programmes and research facilities in the areas of translational experimental research, clinical medicine and public and population health.
The second element of the Business Case relates to Medical Training at Altnagelvin Hospital and the MedEdWest teaching facility which will be enhanced by a new build, increasing the medical teaching space and providing provision for possible future expansion to respond to any future teaching needs. Included in the provision will be two new lecture theatres, two clinical skills rooms, three tutorial rooms, a stimulation room and a virtual reality room.
The project aims to create a ‘Community’ empowered research company, a social enterprise that will provide the opportunity for communities at greatest need to access new, better treatments. This will also boost recruitment to clinical studies thereby boosting income which will be reinvested into further research and creating new job opportunities.
The third and final element of the proposal is the Personalised Medicine Centre, which will comprise of a new build extension to the existing Clinical Translational Research Centre (C-TRIC) at Altnagelvin Hospital, aimed at providing facilities for increased clinical trials and research opportunities to support research, development and innovation. It will promote research and community based research and create a centre of research excellence.
This will see the development of Pharmacogenomics ‘Precision or Personalised Prescribing’ instead of a one size fits all approach which will significantly improve prescribing practices, identifying which medication works best for each patient and improving treatment and avoiding unwanted side effects. This project will save significant monies to the healthcare system in Northern Ireland.
The proposed new School of Medicine/Personalised Medicine Centre has a combined value in excess of £50m.
This special meeting of Council is one of several City Deal focused Special Council meetings held over the past few months where comprehensive updates on the suite of projects included in the proposed City Deal projects have been presented and endorsed by Elected Members. Among the projects were the Strabane Regeneration Pillar; the proposed City Deal Innovation Digital and Health Pillar and the SMART Digital and CADRIC projects and the Central Riverfront/Strand Road and Walled City Regeneration Tourism Projects.
Members attending the meeting were advised that City Deal project OBCs began to be submitted to Government for consideration from mid-Autumn last year with a target announcement for a Financial Deal, (which is when the Outline Business Cases for all projects are developed and submitted to Government for consideration and clearance by Government through a process called Casework), anticipated by Government later this year.
Members were also advised that going forward the management and delivery of such a complex programme of projects of this scale and value will require a significant step change in terms of governance, staffing and resourcing. Promotional collateral including drawings and visuals to help create awareness and engagement are also to be progressed.
Members at the meeting were unanimous in their approval for Council and its partners to advance with the continued development and submission to Government of this OBC.
Ends
Notes to Editor:
Since the completion of the Heads of Terms Agreement on the Derry~Londonderry and Strabane City Region City Deal and Inclusive Future Fund by Government, Council and project partners in February 2021, the focus has been on the development of the OBCs to advance to the Financial Deal stage of the process.
The endorsement today of the OBC for the School of Medicine/Personalised Medicine Innovation Centre means it will be submitted to Government. OBCs already submitted include the following -
The Strabane Town Centre Regeneration Project - £102m project – centered in and around the Canal Basin and Derry Road Area and presented to a Special Council meeting in December 2023 – it consists of a new Northwest Regional College Campus, a WHSCT Primary Care Health Hub, Leisure Centre, New footbridge and associated public realm and environmental improvements. Derry Road to the riverside walk adjacent to the car park at the end of John Wesley Street.
Innovation Digital and Health Projects– -c£39m includes new centres of Innovation in Data Analytics and in Advanced Manufacturing and Robotics to be developed by Ulster University in a combined new facility (CADRIC on a site along the Strand Road opposite the Derry City and Strabane District Council Offices building, as presented to a Special Council meeting in January 2024.
A SMART/Digital programme of projects valued at c£15m, also presented at a Special Council meeting in January 2024 – to include the development of digital enabling infrastructure, a SMART energy pilot, digital transformation challenge funding and a new innovation hub to be developed in or adjacent to the Strand Road Campus of Ulster University and the North West Regional College.
The DNA Museum - c£12.7m – Maritime Museum to be developed in Ebrington and recently approved for funding and to commence on site later this year.
City Deal Central Riverfront/Strand Road, Walled City and Ebrington Regeneration and Tourism Projects -c£180m to revitalise Derry’s Central Riverfront/Strand Road and Walled City area to create a vibrant and thriving Central Riverfront, Walled City and Strand Road areas of the city. The plans include proposals for the new Ulster University Innovation Centres of Excellence, School of Medicine and potential future university expansion to be integrated into the Riverfront by creating a new University Square public realm. The creation of new, high quality public spaces and places through the reorientation and reallocation of road space and the redesign of traffic circulation and vehicle movements. The plans also include proposals to remodel the Harbour Square/Whittaker Street/Victoria Market area and roundabout at the Council Offices as well as exciting and innovative plans top remodel and integrate the existing Story of Derry underground space at the Tower Museum into Union Hall Place/ Guildhall Square and directly into the Craft Village, in partnership with the Inner City Trust. A major lighting scheme within the Walled City and on the Riverfront is a key element of the proposals, alongside improved signage and public realm in and around the Diamond, Shipquay Street and Castle Street.
The paper and presentation relating to this meeting is available here – https://meetings.derrycityandstrabanedistrict.com/documents/s46714/City%20Deal%20School%20of%20Medicine%20and%20Personalised%20Medicine%20Centre%20Update.pdf
The meeting was broadcast live on Council’s Youtube channel and can be watched back.