Narrative:

This is a safety awareness issue; not a report of an event that occurred; but rather one that was averted: on a flight assignment sometime last week; I noticed a new 'device' being used by the 'hospital employed'; [our] company trained FAA medical aircrew members that I had not seen before. I was told 'we just got it' the previous week. The equipment in question is the ferno oxy-clip; and it is a device designed to carry portable oxygen bottles clipped to the handrails of various gurney/litter systems. We were on a hospital transfer assignment. After we landed; the medical crew departed to retrieve the patient from the hospital while I continued to shut down and postflight the aircraft. When the medical crew returned with the patient I noticed this new device clipped to the side rail with D sized oxygen bottle cradled in it that I had not seen before; nor was I aware they had it with them in their medical equipment baggage. After they loaded the patient and had situated their medical equipment the medic asked the nurse if she was 'ok' if he left the device attached to the handrail; as the flight was short? I had to intervene; as I had never seen one of these things before; and noticed that it was not tso'd [technical service order(ed)] for aviation use; nor part of the stc [supplemental type certificate] for the litter system on the aircraft. I told the medic that we'd have to remove it from the stretcher and secure the D bottle in the aircraft's approved bracket. The medic complied with my order without debate. I've since labeled the device with a sticker that reads: not approved for use in flight. There is no issue using the device on the ground; but it will have to be removed and stowed before we operate the aircraft. I mention this because I got the impression that they felt I was simply a cog in the wheels for their convenience and that since they have seen the equipment used elsewhere it was ok for them to use here. I notified my base lead to ensure I am not the only one telling the medical crew to not use this equipment for in-flight use.one of the big problems I see in this industry as a whole is that medical crewmembers often try to use equipment on aircraft that they have become accustomed to using in other non-aviation EMS jobs. Our company does not provide much training for medical aircrew members or pilots about what is and is not acceptable in aircraft. None of these regulations are clearly explained or defined in our gom [general operations manual]. Pilots often find themselves dealing with such things for the first time when the medical crew arrives with the patient and they don't wish to 'rock the boat'; especially at company base locations where customer satisfaction becomes the primary focus.pilots are simply not aware of the regulations because there is not much in the way of training by the air carrier. It should be part of the air carrier's medical crewmember training that they cannot simply procure and use equipment not approved first by the FAA.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An EMS helicopter pilot addressed his concerns about the use of non certified medical equipment aboard EMS aircraft while in flight.

Narrative: This is a safety awareness issue; not a report of an event that occurred; but rather one that was averted: On a flight assignment sometime last week; I noticed a new 'device' being used by the 'hospital employed'; [our] company trained FAA medical aircrew members that I had not seen before. I was told 'we just got it' the previous week. The equipment in question is the Ferno Oxy-Clip; and it is a device designed to carry portable oxygen bottles clipped to the handrails of various gurney/litter systems. We were on a hospital transfer assignment. After we landed; the medical crew departed to retrieve the patient from the hospital while I continued to shut down and postflight the aircraft. When the medical crew returned with the patient I noticed this new device clipped to the side rail with D sized oxygen bottle cradled in it that I had not seen before; nor was I aware they had it with them in their medical equipment baggage. After they loaded the patient and had situated their medical equipment the Medic asked the nurse if she was 'OK' if he left the device attached to the handrail; as the flight was short? I had to intervene; as I had never seen one of these things before; and noticed that it was not TSO'd [Technical Service Order(ed)] for aviation use; nor part of the STC [Supplemental Type Certificate] for the litter system on the aircraft. I told the Medic that we'd have to remove it from the stretcher and secure the D bottle in the aircraft's approved bracket. The Medic complied with my order without debate. I've since labeled the device with a sticker that reads: NOT APPROVED FOR USE IN FLIGHT. There is no issue using the device on the ground; but it will have to be removed and stowed before we operate the aircraft. I mention this because I got the impression that they felt I was simply a cog in the wheels for their convenience and that since they have seen the equipment used elsewhere it was OK for them to use here. I notified my Base Lead to ensure I am not the only one telling the medical crew to not use this equipment for in-flight use.One of the big problems I see in this industry as a whole is that medical crewmembers often try to use equipment on aircraft that they have become accustomed to using in other non-aviation EMS jobs. Our company does not provide much training for medical aircrew members or pilots about what is and is not acceptable in aircraft. None of these regulations are clearly explained or defined in our GOM [General Operations Manual]. Pilots often find themselves dealing with such things for the first time when the medical crew arrives with the patient and they don't wish to 'rock the boat'; especially at Company Base locations where customer satisfaction becomes the primary focus.Pilots are simply not aware of the regulations because there is not much in the way of training by the air carrier. It should be part of the air carrier's medical crewmember training that they cannot simply procure and use equipment not approved first by the FAA.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.