Messiah-on-wheels: India's Lifeline Express brings hope for the poorest

Jalore: When the Lifeline Express rolled into the sleepy town of Jalore in Rajasthan, Bhagwana Ram Prajapat was anxiously waiting to board.

The 55-year-old has been desperately looking for treatment for his grandson's cleft-lip and the specially converted sky-blue, seven-coach train was the answer to his prayers.

"We had been waiting for the surgery ever since the child was born 18 months ago," said Prajapat as his grandson was wheeled into the operating theatre onboard the hospital-train.

The Lifeline Express has been providing free treatment to the needy in deepest India for nearly three decades. It has helped more than one million people, treating ailments ranging from cataracts to cancer.

The train criss-crosses the country, providing state-of-the-art medical care to those who would otherwise have to travel hundreds of miles to the nearest major hospital.

It spends about a month in a district before moving on to a new destination, filling a critical gap in the country's public health system.

"We were thinking we would have to travel everywhere and spend a lot of money. But it's god's blessing that this hospital came to us," said Prajapat.

"I was worried how they are going to conduct the operation in a train. But when we came here and saw the facilities, there was no doubt."

Government-run community health centres form the backbone of rural healthcare in the country. But a lack of infrastructure and doctors means 70 percent of the country's 1.25 billion people have no easy access to treatment.

India is the fastest growing of the world's major economies, but a UNICEF report said some 1.2 million children died of preventable causes in the country in 2015 before their fifth birthday.

State-run hospitals are often stretched to breaking point and patients face long delays for even minor treatment and are forced to share beds.

So many people flock to private clinics even though a consultation can cost Rs 1,000 (USD 15), a huge sum for millions living on less than USD 2 a day.

Train takes the strain

The Lifeline Express took to the rails in 1991 to help patients in far-flung areas who need surgery for cataracts, polio and cleft palates.

Bhagwana Ram Prajapati holds his 18-month-old grandson Bhavik Prajapati prior to his cleft lip surgery. (Photo: AFP)

In 2016, the train expanded its services to include screening and surgery for oral, breast and cervical cancer.

It has two operating theatres and about 20 staff. Many of the doctors work for free.

Mehak Sikka, the Lifeline Express medical officer, said she joined the hospital-on-wheels after seeing the pathetic conditions at health centres.

"I was traumatised to see the healthcare system, especially for women, that we have in the country," said Sikka.

"In many places there were no gynaecologists. Having a gynaecologist is very important in any district hospital but the women didn't have access to one.

"Women were contracting infections only because they were delivering kids outside hospitals."

Sikka said the Lifeline Express did not just aim to treat and leave, but to educate local doctors and people about the right approach to healthcare.

"We also try to set the example that this is how an operating theatre should look. We make sure a local doctor is there when the surgery is being conducted so that he can do the follow-ups later on."

The Lifeline Express is run by Impact India foundation, a non-profit that works with the government and is helped by the World Health Organization and the UN children's agency UNICEF.

Since its launch, more than 130,000 operations have been carried out at 191 stops across the country, said Anil Darse, deputy project director of the hospital-train.

"It's a unique concept of taking healthcare to the public," he said.

The expected launch of another train this year will help more people like Prajapat.

"It's beautiful reaching out to those who really need you," said Sikka. "We need more such trains. Hopefully we will have one more this year."