We went to A&E with a very upset child. She was in pain and we literally only sat down and nurse came. The nurse was so caring and realised my daughter had a broken bone, we were out within two hours, very fast and very reassuring, they made us feel a lot better.

I was absolutely disgusted by the way I was treated. I was left in immense pain for over a year now. I felt like I was a cow being led to market. Just another one of the herd. The surgeon was rude and treated me like I was stupid. NO-ONE explained risks or possible outcomes of the procedure or offered me any alternative treatment which I was eligible for. I have been left scarred mentally and physically because of this hospital. The nurses were the only people in the place that had any empathy for me and other women going through the same procedure so I must give them their dues. I hope no-one else goes through what I went through. It was horrible!

Good

Have always found staff genuine, friendly and reassuring. Appointments not always on time but the care and respect shown at every level compensates for that. Nobody wants to spend any time in a hospital, but our experiences (outpatients) have always worked out well and they are doing their best.

Yes i do agree with some of the comments made about some nurses pushing the whole breast feeding issue (undue pressure on new moms) and others not being very nice however on the whole all the staff were brilliant and i was in hospital for 5 days. The staff are under a lot of pressure and some of the patients are very disrespectful to them so i can understand why they might be in bad form at one time or another but i would like to give them the benefit of the doubt. I was really impressed with the care i recieved so much so i am due my second baby in three weeks and i am attending Mullingar hospital again under the same consultant Dr. Mortell. Hopefully this visit will be as positive!

A complete disgrace

Excellent hospital, both in maternity and in paediatrics (Special Care Baby Unit).

Great hospital. All staff from housekeeping, catering, A&E, surgeons, nurses, midwives, health care assistants, team on emergency C-sections, absolutely everyone involved in the care of me and my son were amazing.

Top class hospital in every area that I had to be treated in.

Felt alone in the private room, always pressing the buzzer to request help. While I appreciate staff are busy and can't just pop in, I felt when I beeped for help, nurses were too busy to have to deal with me and didn't appreciate that I called them. There is way too much pressure on new mothers to breastfeed and while I did it, the 'support' was over the top to the point that I felt like a huge failure as it wasn't going well. The lactation consultant/leader came to check in and deal with my issues when I was about to be discharged...too late! New mothers should be encouraged, gently supported and listened to and not lectured about breastfeeding or be expected to just know how to do it hours after giving birth. There was no follow through with the staff. One nurse would go to get a blood pressure monitor and never come back. Another would go to get formula and never come back and I was constantly on the beeper to follow up. While I appreciate that staff are extremely busy, patients shouldn't be forgotten about.

Had 1st baby as public patient, ended up being admitted at 36wk visit with suspected pre-eclampsia. Was in for 2 wks before being induced at 38wks. Saw consultant once at 15wks & again end of 1st wk in hosp to tell me what the plan was to get to 38 wks and induce. I didn't expect any more as I was public so that was fine. Instead I had an absolute gem called Dr Dan (don't know his last name) but he always spoke directly to me on his rounds unlike another dr I had for few days before that. The staff all seemed to love him too. He seemed to get what my fears were and listened in a way that others hadn't. The nurses in ante natal were all fabulous and as i was in for so long I got to know most of them. The delivery went very smoothly - midwife Therese was so cool and unfortunately I never saw her again after delivery but I don't think I broke eye contact with her the entire labour! Post natal was a bit more hectic but they were so helpful, taking my baby for fews hours at night so I could sleep - my BP was thru the roof. The lactation specialist Eileen is a godsend. The cleaning staff do tend to be quite loud and pull curtains open without warning but I didn't really care and none of the babies seemed to notice the noise. I would go public again as don't see the point in paying privately when there's no guarantee you get who you pay for and the team I got was fab. Even Dr Dan popped his head in several times to check on my labour. Some of the ante natal staff actually came down to say goodbye to me before I left after my 3 week stay. The only downside is the waiting times for the ante natal apps. Next time i'll do GP only visits I think. Will be going back there if i need maternity care again, couldn't recommend those people highly enough.

Commencing official complaints procedure.

My parent was treated extremely badly for the 12 hours they were in the A&E department. No insulin was administered to treat their type 1 diabetes, no regulation of their blood sugars, they were sent home in the middle of the night despite being told of a definite referral to another hospital. Also they were sent home with a cannula stuck in their arm (which should have been removed). The list was endless. They were also labelled as being 'disabled' and 'must be got rid of', which was highly inappropriate from one staff member.

My pregnancy was terrible in this hospital...I spent 12 days in total in there after giving birth to my son. The majority of nurses were exceptional however, there were the one or two who were very rude and ignorant. It was very evident that they were under enormous pressure with the amount that had to be done and the skeleton staff which was on. My bed sheets were not changed until the 8th day in care and considering I had an infection after my C-section this was extremely bad. Some of the staff just pulled back your curtain and didn't care what you were doing behind it and left it open.

On Monday the 1/4/12 My Father had a stroke. The staff in Mullingar A+E were fantastic they were quick with his treatment and explained everything to us thoroughly. The A+E check in desk was slow and the staff were a little abrupt but besides that everything was fantastic. The following week i had to bring my 3 yr old Daughter in with a bad chest infection which turned out she had a collapsed lung. Again the staff were quick and pleasant with her treatment, DR Francis (i can't remember surname) was lovely and brought her back again the following week for a check up. The care my Father and Daughter received was fantastic and they are both doing great now so keep up the good work Mulingar despite all your cut-backs and shame on you Dr James Reilly

Three year old child was sent down four levels to use the bathroom. Not allowed use the empty patient bathroom. Family not allowed visit newborn. Made feel excluded from this joyous event. Spoken to by the nurse in charge like I had a learning difficulty. I felt like I had gone back in time. Appalling. Exclusionary. Unfriendly. Unhelpful.

One A&E nurse in particular on duty was so kind, pleasant and professional. Her whole manner took away the fear for my daughter. It was an emergency admission. I was very happy with the care and treatment my daughter received

My daughter was basically told her tests were clear which was great, but she was still not well and was told to go home and sort herself out because it might be all physchological??????

Dr Yvonne (can't remember surname) in A&E, she was extremly professional and polite.

Top class hospital.

Attitude of nursing staff very rude, defensive, family had to attend to patients hygiene, never washed or nightdress changed unless done by family, bad experience from start to finish. Although patient's medications were to be crushed they never were, whole tablets found in the bed several times.

ii was sent to an A&E by gp for tests even though i offered to go to local private hospital and pay for same tests after waiting for 6 hours i left with solid tiredness, i will go to gp and have a referral done to specialist

Generally very disappointed with the level of nursing care and attention. Defensive attitude of staff when meeting family members. The patient was unable to fend for himself in hospital and basic needs not met by staff. Generally uncaring attitude by most nursing staff.

Dr Cosgrove and staff took great care of all my needs. Thank you all.

Was made to feel more relaxed as time progressed. Very caring staff, medical and general.

Appalling and incoherent care. Terrible communication skills.Conceited doctors.Poor levels of practice in general.

I am currently pregnant with my first child. I am not Irish. Once I have asked them to explain my blood test results to me. But I was asked to leave the room. Not in very nice way.

It would take me forever to say what I experienced and went through and how I was treated. I would strongly advise against attending this hospital in regards to having a baby.

It would take me forever to explain what I went through and the way I was treated. I will be taking this to the next level.

Throughout the time we spent in Mullingar Hospital it was obvious that the staff were under extreme pressure mainly due to reduced staffing levels. At all times medical and ancillary staff were professional and caring, and I commend them for their level of care, but it was obvious to me that the standard of care was not what it should be. However these wonderful people were doing their level best to provide the service they knew members of the public not only expected but deserved.