During a routine walk outside St. Helier Hospital in Sutton, England, a nurse caught sight of something that made them stop in their tracks: deep inside a drain, about six feet down, someone was trapped — cold, scared, and clearly out of place.
As the nurse leaned in, they realized it wasn’t a person, but a small, shivering animal in desperate need of help. They quickly called the RSPCA and stayed nearby, keeping watch. Soon, other staff members gathered around, unable to look away from the unfolding rescue mission.
When RSPCA animal rescue officer Yalina Blumer arrived, the nursing staff was ready to assist — and witness what became a hospital-wide moment of compassion.
“The cub was about six feet down,” Blumer explained. “I climbed down a ladder while someone from the hospital lowered a basket to me. I used a grasper to gently catch the cub and lifted him to safety.”
The tiny patient turned out to be a young fox who had likely fallen in by accident. While there was some concern he may have injured a leg, he was alert and in good spirits, though clearly exhausted and chilled from the ordeal.
“I wasn’t sure how long he’d been down there,” Blumer said. “So it was important he got a full checkup.”
For a moment, this fox became one more being the hospital staff cared for — a surprise addition to their patient list. Thankfully, after being examined, he was found to be in good health.
Blumer later released him into nearby woodland behind the hospital, a spot known to be home to several fox dens.
“At first, he hesitated,” she said. “But then he darted off into the woods, happy to be free again.”
It was a rescue made possible not just by the RSPCA but by a group of nurses whose instinct to care extended beyond human patients — and who couldn’t help but cheer when their unexpected visitor made it safely home.
