World’s first Hospital Train reaches Barak Valley, to conduct project from 5-24th January

World’s first “Hospital on Wheels”, Lifeline Express, which has served more than a million patients with free consultation, treatment and surgeries across India, has now arrived at Badarpur station to serve the population of Barak Valley.

For those who are unaware, the Lifeline Express, or Jeevan Rekha Express, is a hospital train that runs throughout the length and breadth of India starting since 16 July 1991 with collaboration between the Impact India Foundation (IIF), Indian Railways (IR) and the Health Ministry. During its three decades of journey, the train has camped at different parts of the country and served millions of poor with door step treatment.

This will be 210th project of Lifeline express, which will begin from 5th January of the new year and will continue till 24th January.

However before opening up the facilities to people, the train staffs conduct an outreach programme at surrounding areas of the location – to assess and screen the medical requirements. “We are conducing the outreach programme and it will continue till 9th January. Thereafter all the beneficiaries will be called on according to the schedule and treated. Everything is free of cost and anyone from any three districts can reach out to us” Senior Operating officer of the hospital, Chandrakanta Deshpande said to this website.

Among the list of facilities it provides, few are – surgeries for restoring sight to the blind, mobility to polio stricken, restoring hearing to the hearing impaired and smiles to those affected with cleft lip besides treatment of Epilepsy. Apart from this all, the moving hospital also implements cancer awareness and screening services for oral, cervical and Breast Cancers.

“Earlier, there use to be a huge crowd surrounding the train as people took it like as health camp and begin to throng the train but this time, pertaining to the COVID situation, we will limit the number. We are conducting doorstep screening so that only the required patients can be called on” the officer said, adding there are total 20 Lifeline staffs along with visiting surgeons from different Indian medical institutes.

The Lifeline Express train is equipped with two state of art operation theaters with 5 operating tables, Dental department with three dental chairs, Xray, Mammography Colposcope and pathology lab.

The train will also provide testing of blood pressure and sugar for all registered patients during entire project duration between 5th to 24th January. Apart from this, general consultation, PAP-Samer, Mammography and Oral CA screening can also be availed on the Express with prior appointment.

The train consists total of seven coaches.