Poorly hedgehog pays a visit to South Tyneside District Hospital’s emergency department

A team of nurses at South Tyneside District Hospital found themselves in an unusual situation on Sunday night (August 13) when an unwell hedgehog found its way into the emergency department.

The unexpected visitor wandered into the resus unit via the doors that are usually used by ambulance crews.

The team at the emergency department realised the animal was unwell so Sister Kate Gordon, who has experience of looking after hedgehogs, put on some gloves and scooped him up.

Alongside registered nurses, Nicola Kirtley and Laura Short, healthcare assistant Rachel Oren and staff nurse Megan Bell, they grabbed a blanket from a warming cabinet and found a box to put him in.

Staff contacted Pawz for Thought, on Ferryboat Lane in Sunderland, and the charity has started treating the animal, with him expected to make a full recovery.

The juvenile male hedgehog will be well enough for Kate to collect soon and she plans to release him on Temple Memorial Park, close to the hospital.

Kate said: “Our resus area was empty and we found him pottering around. He was quite little and we quickly saw he didn’t look well.

“He was quite floppy when we picked him up and he was cold, so we wrapped him up in a warmed blanket.

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“The charity said he was hypothermic, so was really cold, which is probably why he came inside, to get warm.

“I just love hedgehogs. I’ve got two quite tame ones living in my garden. I had some cat food in the boot of my car, so we were able to give him some of that.”

“The charity has already started his treatment, so I’ll be picking him up and releasing him nearby.”

The nursing team in the emergency department had initially called him Barry, but as Pawz for Thought uses an alphabet system to name its animals, Kate quickly came up with John instead.

Following the visit from John the hedgehog, the team in the emergency department is now leading efforts between colleagues to donate funds for Pawz for Thought.

Anyone who would like to add to the appeal or find out more about the charity can visit https://www.pawzforthought.org/.