Over a thousand patients in the remote Tripura have been treated at Lifeline Express, the world’s first hospital train, since Tuesday at Churaibari Railway Station of North Tripura district.
Lifeline Express is a train healthcare service which aims to reach those people who hail from remote areas that lack medical facilities. The initiative was set up as a joint initiative of Impact India Foundation, Indian Railways and Ministry of Health in 1991.
Among those who received treatment on the ‘hospital train’ so far, 77 cataract patients would undergo surgery starting soon.
Speaking to a national daily, Lifeline Express Joint Director Anil Premsagar on Wednesday informed that the hospital train received good response among local people and has attended to over a thousand patients in the first two days.
“We received 400 patients on the first day. It is 4 PM now and we have already received 600 patients. The idea behind the train is to provide diagnostic, medical and advanced surgical treatment to persons with disabilities and reach out to inaccessible rural areas that lack medical services”, he said.
The train would remained stationed at Churaibari, 185 km from here, till January 6.
