life line express expanding treatment

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Life Line Express, a hospital train started in Hong Kong, has done a lot of good to the world especially the underprivileged. However, its reach in India has to broaden to derive maximum benefit. “REACHING OUT TO everyone” being the prime objective, Life Line Express, a moving train, is aiming at bringing in smile and happiness for the less privileged sections of the society, in some parts of the world. China seems to be doing pretty well with the introduction of Life Line Express, a four carriage hospital train that runs from Hong Kong and provides affordable eye surgery for a large number of poor village people in China. Recently, Navin Jayakumar, neuro-opthalmologist and former head of the Department of Neuro-opthalmology at the Sankara Nethralaya (an Eye Hospital) in Chennai had a good stint at a Hong Kong Eye Hospital with the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Recalling his days at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, he says it has given him immense satisfaction while he was using his skills to restore the vision of poor people in rural China. He was actively involved in teaching and training the medical fraternity while working for the prevention of blindness. He is cherishing the experience he had in the Life Line Express, which has given eyesight to a huge number of people especially in rural China. Life Line Express Foundation, a Hong Kong based charity, started “The Life Line Project” eight years ago. Navin says, “In China poor people cannot undergo free surgeries in government hospitals or through charitable organisations. A cataract surgery will cost nearly 6,000 Yuan. But Life Line Express provides surgery at subsidised costs and patients pay only a tenth of the outside cost.” He further adds the surgeries are carried out on-board the train. On an average a surgeon does 25-30 surgeries. One of the carriages had been converted into an operation theatre. Another one is made up as a 60-bed ward. A high level of skill is required to do surgery in this way since each surgery has to be finished within 10-15 minutes. After that patients would be transferred to the ward and next day morning after check-up they would be discharged." The train runs for about nine months in a year providing eyesight to thousands of poor people. A team of four doctors and three paramedics attend to the patients and live in the train. The train is halted at various places, sometimes for three to four months at stretch in one place where the local hospitals keep the reports of the patients ready besides finishing pre-screening and other formalities. In India, Impact India Foundation, promoted by UNDP, UNICEF, WHO in association with Government of India, claims July 16, 1991, as the date on which the world’s first hospital train was launched. Impact India Foundation started this project with a simple dream. All it wanted was that people should not, through neglect or ignorance, become disabled or crippled, and thus robbed of health, productivity and joy, and that disabled persons especially in rural India should have access to medical services wherever they be. Over 400,000 Indians have so far benefited from the remarkable train, and other countries have come forward to start their Lifeline Express on which major surgeries have been performed to restore movement, hearing, sight and correction of clefts. Tata Chemicals teamed up with Impact India for becoming sponsors for the Life Line Express to run from Jamnagar district for the first time between November 21, 2004 and December 21, 2004. Alka Talwar, head (community development), Tata Chemicals Society for Rural Development (TCSRD), said, “The concept of Life Line Express ensures that world-class medical facilities reach the remotest of places, thus giving the rural folk an opportunity to avail of the medical facilities which they otherwise are deprived of.” Some of the services the Life Line Express provides include restoration of movement to polio-affected persons, restoration of sight through cataract operations, intra ocular lens implants, counselling and referral services, cleft lip surgeries, middle ear surgeries and many more. India can do well by redefining the scope of Lifeline Express. The following could be thought of in this regard: * The train can be made to run throughout the year - I am sure more and more sponsors will be willing to support this cause. * Micro-financing concept for the rural folks can also be introduced through Life Line Express, which has the ability to reach as many villages in the country, after doing the feasibility study. * Government’s ambitious programme of “employment for all” under Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme can also be linked up with this Life Line Express to make the programme more successful. * Disaster management groups can also look forward to the services of Life Line Express as a prime source of help in need especially during draughts and floods. * Life Line Express can also extend help to the numerous schools/colleges located in rural areas by providing guest like visiting lecturers and professors, more books and other modern study materials to make learning and study more enjoyable. * Many new and innovative concepts can be introduced through Life Line Express that has the ability to reach the maximum for improving the quality of life. * Let’s hope Life Line Express does its best in solving numerous issues facing mankind today for bringing in long lasting happiness for every person.