SBB finds main tenant for Liestal station
Baselland Cantonal Hospital wants to rent space in the planned new railroad station building in Liestal. The hospital has signed a letter of intent with SBB for this purpose. An outpatient center is planned.
In April 2016, representatives of SBB and the city of Liestal presented the winning project for the planned new station building on construction site C and the office building on construction site B. The original plan was for the Basel-Landschaft cantonal administration to rent a building. According to media reports, this deal did not materialize; instead, the Baselland cantonal hospital now wants to occupy service space in the station building.
According to the hospital, this is in response to increased demand for outpatient services. Some hospitals throughout Switzerland have already responded to this development by setting up health centers or emergency practices in the immediate vicinity of patient flows.
Concrete size and orientation still unclear
The signing of the letter of intent marks the start of a multi-year development project. One of the issues to be clarified is how large the center could become. It is expected that 20 to 40 doctors will be able to work there, Michael Rolaz, Head of Strategy at Baselland Cantonal Hospital, told Radio SRF's "Regionaljournal Basel". The aim is to launch a basic service, also to relieve the nearby emergency ward. Special consultation hours, such as for orthopaedics or ear, nose and throat, are also conceivable.
In the meantime, the development of the station area is being continued by SBB with the involvement of the city and canton. The next milestone is the entry into force of the neighborhood plan.
