Tata Chemicals hosts the Lifeline Express in Babrala
January 27, 2011

Month-long medical camp to benefit thousands

Babrala: Tata Chemicals (TCL), as part of its continuing rural outreach development programme, will be hosting the world-famous hospital on wheels — Lifeline Express — in Babrala from January 27, 2011. The Lifeline Express will be stationed at Babrala for a month, till February 26, 2011, and will provide specialised medical services to people in and around Babrala.

This is the third time that TCL with the help of its community development wing, Tata Chemicals Society for Rural Development (TCSRD), would be hosting the community health project of Impact India through this Lifeline Express. Designed to reach out as a one-stop medical solution for those people in the interiors who are poor and unable to go to far-flung places for their medical needs, the Lifeline Express consists of four railway coaches equipped with sophisticated medical and surgical facilities, as well as a training centre for doctors. It provides on-the-spot diagnostic, medical and surgical treatment completely free of charge.

The health services that Lifeline Express offers will include orthopaedic camps and ENT treatment, cleft lip operations and polio corrective operations. Additionally, this year two new services viz. dental checkup and epilepsy counselling will also be taken up. TCSRD will be mobilising and informing general public about the services being offered during the month-long health project. More than 4,500 people benefitted when the Lifeline express had come last time to Babrala, which included 132 corrective polio operations and 63 cleft lip operations.

Alka Talwar, head, community development, TCL, said, “TCL has always believed in sustaining long-term development in partnership with local bodies. Hosting the Lifeline Express in Babrala strengthens our commitment to the areas we operate in. The Lifeline Express will help in bringing specialised medical treatment to thousands of people in Babrala in proximity to their home and free of charge. Apart from providing medical treatment, the Lifeline Express will also sensitise them in adopting good hygiene and healthy habits.”

Equipped with state-of-the-art health facilities and a team of experienced volunteer doctors from AMU, King George Medical Centre, AIIMS, Gandhi Eye Hospital and other district hospitals, along with experienced health care workers, the treatments are done using the latest available gadgets and equipment which are minimally invasive in nature and which have a low turnaround time. The Lifeline Express treatment procedure involves a proper screening and advice prior any treatment. More stress is given on the post-operative care and follow-up advice and detailed counselling to the patients and their families. If required, patients are also referred to hospitals for further necessary advanced treatment to get appropriate care.

The initial period of the camp, this time, will be devoted to cleft lip operations followed by polio corrective operations. The patients are provided with residential facilities and also conveyance to and from the camp to the nearest possible place to their residences.

Volunteers from TCL and also from all walks of life participate in this endeavour to provide the necessary services and assistance to patients in all possible ways.