World’s first hospital train | Fusion - WeRIndia

Do you know which country initiated the first hospital on a train and when?

The world’s first hospital on a train was started in India in 1991. The Lifeline Express or Jeevan Rekha Express is the first hospital train in the world.

Indian Railways, Impact India Foundation (IIF) and the Health Ministry collectively started the Lifeline Express. The train has seven coaches.

Underprivileged people from all over the country can get free treatment in this hospital train. Especially those from remote areas who do not have access to healthcare facilities can get benefit from it.

The Lifeline Express is funded by IIF, many Indian corporate donors, private individuals and international donors.

The train is stationed at the Badarpur station in Assam at present. It impacted the world to launch many such initiatives.

The Lifeline Express has all modern facilities, including two modern operation theatres, operation tables and other facilities. The coaches are air-conditioned. They have advanced facilities and expert doctors.

The train provides on-the-spot diagnostic services and treatment for their health disorder. Patients also can get advanced surgical treatments.

The Lifeline Express offers numerous services. These include orthopaedic surgical interventions, ophthalmological procedures including cataracts, surgical interventions for hearing problems, screening and treatment of epilepsy, plastic surgery for facial deformities, cancer treatment, and many more.

Besides, it offers immunization and counselling services. It connects patients with local health authorities for follow-up sessions as a liaison.

It also creates awareness of heath among the deprived in far-flung and remote areas.

In addition to that, it provides training to healthcare professions in surgical procedures.

The hospital train visits various parts of the country, including rural regions, remote areas, places affected by natural disasters etc. and stays there for a few weeks to provide healthcare to locals.

Image Credit: 颐园新居 / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Image Reference: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lifeline_Express_GQ2002.7.1_20120324.jpg