Tottigol:
Devil49, I agree with part of your post, the last part mainly.
The part with which I don't agree is where you refer to the airline industry:
1. Following the Buffalo accidents of a few years back and the uproar that followed it, even the Regionals had to bite the bullet and accept a minimum of an ATP license for their SICs and the flight time experience that comes with it, the HEMS industry is going into the opposite direction with no end in sight.
Look even further back in airline history and the industry's safety wasn't stellar.
The Buffalo accident has much to teach the industry, especially regarding crew rest, yet I haven't heard discussion one from management or my peers. It's like that never happens...
2. An airline FLIGHT CREW decision to not depart is not usually followed by subliminal or overt pressure by the passengers (read customers) to launch, penalty removal from the position as it often happens with HEMS pilots.
I have never had an abort or decline brought up, much less critiqued by AVIATION management. Medical crew is another kettle of fish entirely but I'll chew my lip for a bit on that.
You are right HEMS pilots do not want to travel, but that would remove most cases of get-home-itis (you ARE away for a week or so).
Sleeping quarters need not be anything fancier than a double wide, which is the industry standard anyway.
My base has a pilot suite separate from the operations area.
You're halfway to a point with "get-home-itis" in that the issue of company providing poor support for weather aborts. That can be an issue, whether it's admitted or not.
GomerPylot is correct, have you ever seen your med crew trying to do compressions on a 400 pounder in flight? There just isn't enough space above the poor person and the cabin ceiling.
Yep, I have. The ceiling isn't the issue, it's lateral patient access seems a bigger problem in my unqualified estimation. The 407 won't be an improvement in that regard, but perhaps we'll have "thumpers" and other automation by then.