Helmet Fire:
Good points. I think you make a very valid point about momentum. When somebody makes a suggestion about how to 'fix' US HEMS and has a 'Dr.' before his name, trust me, he has more credibility than Average Joe The Pilot.
My only concern is (and I believe it is echoed, to an extent,by Gomer) is that we do not end up losing the only benefit the helicopter offers over a Fixed Wing by adding all kinds of equipment and restrictions.As Gomer said earlier, it is not the best system here in the US but it is what we have got and has worked well for a long time. We definitely need to tweak it and improve safety with the assistance of training and technology. But if we mandate all the stuff that Bryan Bledsoe advocates we will end up killing HEMS, as we know it, in the US.
As to comparisons I don't believe you were making any.But there are plenty of folks out there, right here in the US, who do. They talk about how the Brits do it and how the Austrians don't fly EMS by night etc. etc.Comparisons fall apart very quickly when you compare the political and geographical differences between Europe and the US.The only countries that compare favorably in terms of size are Australia and Canada. It would be worthwhile starting comparisons there.
Gomer,
Even if socialized medicine does make it to the US in the near future I believe HEMS subsidies will be at the bottom of the priority list. As an example, we only have to look at Medicaid reimbursements to see that as true. So I would'nt hold my breath.
Final thoughts (and I know I am going to take heat for this) while even one accident is one too many and 2008 has been horrible,one must also objectively compare number of helicopters/hours flown/successful flights vs. accidents before we condemn the US HEMS ops. We do have cultural baggage and we must do better. But 750 helicopters complete millions of flight hours and thousands of patient transfers every year successfully. I think that is awesome.How can we improve without going overboard is the dilema.I don't think any one agency, person or operator has all the answers.
Alt3.