It’s not just our patients and their loved ones that we care for at ESNEFT.
Back in the summer a mother duck and her six ducklings took up residence at Colchester Hospital.
The hen, christened “Maureen”, made her nest on the flat roof above Outpatients, between the Critical Care Unit and the Blood Sciences department, much to the delight of colleagues working there.
Associate practitioner in Blood Sciences, Chloe Brown, said: “We became emotionally attached to the ducks and, along with our critical care colleagues, practically adopted them.
Maureen and her ducklings
“We were given permission to go on to the roof and set up a home as they didn’t have much initially, leaving mealworms and lettuce leaves to feed on.
“It was like looking after a pet and we all fell in love with Maureen and her ducklings. We were excited and nervous in equal measure as none of us had experienced anything like this before.
“We made sure we kept an eye on them, took it in turns to buy them food, and kept an eye out for seagulls, as they can be bullies.”
Maureen and her ducklings stayed in their rooftop home until Colchester-based animal rescue charity Wildlives came and captured the ducks humanely, before safely releasing them into the wild.
Watch Maureen and her ducklings being released into the wild, here. Video courtesy of Wildlives.
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