I wasn't given water-a basic need although I had asked for it three times. I eventually after waiting more than 3 hrs I went round the ward on my crutches to find water and was ignored my the nurse even though she knew I couldn't carry it back to my room. I asked for pain relief on the night I was admitted but the nurse didn't even know what my condition was. There were no notes until the next day. Staff were uncaring. Very bad experience and my doctor couldn't get discharge notes for me even 2 wks after my discharge. Doctor was unhelpful too.

My 5-year-old son was admitted. Did not see any senior doctor let alone a consultant to explain anything to me, only a junior/intern to get my consent. With the procedure he needed, you would expect SOME kind of dressing or bandage to be applied to specific area, however when my son woke up and had a look at his 'wound' there was NOTHING on it. Naturally enough he started screaming, as you would expect a 5-year-old kid to see something horrific and covered in blood! The extremely kind nurse who I was dealing with was shocked also and offered some green gauze to cover up the area. This somewhat calmed my son down. The questions about sterility and hygiene were certainly raised. Was let home a couple of hours later again without seeing a doctor or the consultant and with NO follow up outpatient appointment. Would certainly think twice about going there again.

My brother in law came to UHG with appendicitis, he was in severe pain and received morphine which did help.The doctor was extremely professional and the paramedic staff were excellent. The emergency department was like Beirut, patients lying everywhere. The nurse who dealt with my brother in law was the rudest person we have ever met. I understand that the emergency department can be busy but a smile and a helping hand wouldn't go astray. I am a nurse myself and work in a busy oncology ward and I would never be rude to staff. She connected my brother in law to IV fluids and never commenced them, when I returned after half hour they were still clamped off. She wasn't one bit nice when we asked for them to be started. I pity any poor vunerable person coming in on there own, they may be too afraid to ask the nurse anything when she is so rude. All i can say is that she made the A&E experience unbearable for us all.

I attended the maternity section and there isn't a chance in hell I will return there!

I have a 13 year old daughter who had surgery 6 weeks ago and she developed an infection. I brought her into A&E, she was seen by a senior doctor who prescribed antibiotics and an x-ray and bloods were taken also. Came back fine and she was sent home. Brought back in the next day with nausea and vomiting and a fever. More antibiotics and the consultant refused to see her as they were on holidays. The doctor she then saw looked dissatisfied to see her and gave her even stronger antibiotics. Next week presented with extreme swelling and still antibiotics for no reason that we were told. The 3rd time she was only seen by a nurse for two minutes. This is scandalous treatment of a young child.

Had my baby there and never again. One so called midwife should really consider a career change. Why oh why would you go into nursing with an attitude like hers.

I had a baby in March. The doctor was great in the pregnancy clinic. In the antenatal ward I found the staff very good but very busy and rushing. In the labour ward, the staff weren't busy but some I found had no time to give. Student was rude and made me feel uncomfortable. When the doctor come in to check the baby out, I felt like they were talking to me and asking questions to me through midwife. Afterwards was good, I was breastfeeding myself and went home early to have visits at my house which was good. I would go back with more opened eyes to what I want.

That hospital is the worst hospital I have ever had the unfortunate luck to have had to deal with. My treatment and ongoing issues from start to finish have been nothing but shocking.

Went into A&E with a fever during pregnancy, everyone was super efficient and during my stay in hospital all the nursing staff were brilliant. However I do feel that once I mentioned I was under private maternity care with a very well known doctor, at A&E I felt there was an attitude change and believe I was treated better.

The midwives who encouraged me to go home the day after my baby was born gave me excellent care when they visited me in my home for follow-up care

I did not have any issues with the delivery of my baby last year, but there was absolutely no postnatal care. No help with breastfeeding. The midwives ticked their boxes to say you were breastfeeding and left you to it. My consultant and his team gave me no information of what happened during delivery, had a vaginal tear and was not informed. I lost a lot of blood and was told by my midvives on ward to take two iron tablets instead of one when I went home and wasn't told why. Public health nurse didn't arrive for two days, apparently they didn't inform her that I was sent home. Midwives on ward extremely busy, however this is no excuse for a lack of compassion when having difficulties with a new baby. My major issue with this hospital is that they sent me home without telling me of injuries that I sustained, they left that up to the public health nurse and my own GP. It is quite evident that I am not the first person to have issues with this hospital and the maternity dept and probably won't be the last but I have now come to the conclusion that if I am to have a second child that I will undoubtedly have to go down the private route.

I would recommend the maternity unit. I had a very positive experience.

The patient always seems to be the lowest priority in all areas of hospital protocol.

Very good care given to me in the A&E department and further care given in an efficient manner by the Haemophilia Services Dept.

An overall excellent hospital and I am very lucky to be under its care.

No member of my family will ever attend this hospital again.

Excellent care given to my wife and our first baby. We were aware of the bad press recently about the maternity unit but am very glad to say our experience was the best and will reassure our friends who are expecting their first baby in May about the maternity dept.

First class care.

My friend received great support and confidence with her first baby. She was encouraged to continue breastfeeding when she felt she wanted to give up. Three months on and she is still breastfeeding her baby. Cannot understand the poor rating the media recently reported about Galway maternity. Strongly feel not enough people comment on the excellent work of all the staff and the care they invest in the mothers, babies, husbands/partners.

I can't speak highly enough of the staff of this hospital!

I had an emergency C-section largely I believe because I was due on Christmas day. The labour ward staff were perfectly nice and professional. The antenatal and the postnatal care was frankly horrendous. The midwives were unsupportive at best but at worst I found the overall attitude bordering on abusive at times. This happened four years ago and I still feel upset and anger at how I was treated when I was a patient there. I live very near the hospital but will travel to Portiuncula should I have a second baby, I will not return to UHG maternity unit.

Staff very kind and were very good to me.

Grateful for the safe arrival of my niece and the support given to my sister in this hospital.

At around midday, the doctor came to me, recognised my waters were broken, but fore-waters were not and I was admitted. Throughout the night, the windows in the ward were left open. I went to seek help and ask for a blanket, the nurse was asleep at the desk, she lifted her head and was so sleepy that she lay back down again. That night I caught a chest infection. I was very uncomfortable and sat in the hall with my back to the heater. In the morning, the doctor said I could go home not remembering the previous diagnosis and on being reminded, they quickly moved me to the labour ward telling me that I have to be induced. I immediately went into labour when my waters were broken by the doctor. But the nurses still hooked me up to the hormone drip not believing me. The midwife would not listen as I repeatedly exclaimed I need to push she said I have hours left and never examined me because the machine I was hooked up to showed no contractions. She sat at her desk and even offered to bring in visitors to me. She left for her lunch. The student midwife who was silently observing got another midwife. Ten minutes later I was holding my baby. When the other midwife returned, she told me that I must have been having the contractions in my back. On the 2nd day, when I was leaving the hospital, the doctor came to tell me that because my baby was so long in the birth canal, they needed to put him on 24hr observation, so wait another night and day. That night the nurse would not do the observations because, as she said, two days have passed this was pointless. She said she would phone the doctor to explain this. The following day I went home with antibiotics for my newly acquired chest infection. I continued to have pain and bleed weeks later. My GP diagnosed me with a severe womb infection and I was put on yet more antibiotics. And due to all the unnecessary hormones at birth, my baby got baby acne.

One doctor had to be told to wear gloves, as they kept rubbing and touching their nose while inserting a needle to connect drip, very careless and unhygienic. Also one nurse kept answering doctor's questions instead of letting patient answer. They were also quite rude and dismissive.

Visiting hours were not enforced .. If was very difficult to rest and recover due to many visitors .. It was a very busy noisy ward

After being admitted with chest pain and a history of heart disease, I waited 3 days for an ECG, 6 days for an angiogram and 7 days for a stress ECG, only to be sent home and told it was anxiety. That bed could have been used by someone who was sick and left on a trolley. Was left fasting all day every day 'just in case' they decided to do the angiogram that day. Felt worse after getting out of hospital -after the treatment received it took another week to recover from that alone. The health system is a joke.

A&E in this hospital is a disgrace, due in no small part to the people who run it. I had to listen to several senior staff and doctors giving out about a consultant because he told us to bring the patient into A&E if anything went wrong which it did, and each time they relayed their story they did it in front of the patient and his relative. I also witnessed the paramedics when they ran out of clean blankets just dipping into the huge laundry bin in a darkened hallway and reusing what was in it. Sickening to think they could do this, and it obviously was common practice as there was no hesitation at all to go straight to the bin for a blanket.

Everyone involved with the running of this place should be ashamed from the top down, and if some of the staff think they are "not the problem" their complacency is disgraceful - shame on you all.

Cannot fault any of the staff in gynaecology - not one of them had a sour face, all had smiles and even enjoyed a laugh which makes things easier for a patient to handle the situation they are in. Well done and thank you all :)