Occupational Therapy News OTnews April 2019 | Page 9

NEWS
Occupational therapist funds defibrillator in rural village
A new defibrillator has been installed in a North Yorkshire village
after fundraising by an occupational therapist.
Amie Metcalfe, an occupational therapist for Middlesbrough
Council, raised the funds for a defibrillator in Dalehouse after
worrying about how long it would take for support to arrive at the
rural village.
Amie said: ‘Working as
an occupational therapist,
I’m always looking for the
best for people in everyday
life. You hear so many
stories about people who
have died from cardiac
arrests, and I’ve heard so
many from my dad, who
was a paramedic, too. 
‘We live in such a rural
area that if we were to call
an ambulance they’ve got
a long way to come. There
are a couple of defibrillators
in nearby Staithes that have
been used successfully in
recent history and so we know how important it is to have them
here.
‘I was also motivated in my cause by the sad passing of my
cousin Ashley from sudden adult death syndrome and hope that
in the worst-case scenario this defibrillator can help save a life.’
Amie raised the funds
by running the Great
North Run and holding
fundraising nights. There
were also vital donations
from the Whitby Lions,
the Staithes Community
Initiative, and the Fox
and Hounds pub at
Dalehouse. 
After successfully
funding the new
defibrillator, leftover funds
are being donated to
the Fox Inn in nearby
village Roxby, which is
also fundraising for a
defibrillator. 
Amie Metcalfe
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OTnews April 2019 9