Had to wear the same pair of surgical socks for the five-day duration. When I asked if I could get a fresh pair, the nurse told me they cost €15 a pair. I found this extremely degrading and embarrassing. Anyhow, it's irrelevant to the patient how much medication and equipment costs. When she brought be my antibiotic pills later that day I felt like asking her how much they cost.

I was absolutly appalled by the doctors. I had a child five months ago and have been sore ever since. I have been to see numerous doctors and they are unable to tell me the cause, they have been foobing me off to other departments. One doctor was going to send me home and when the other doctor came to see me, sent me to theatre. They do not seem to know what they are doing and I am still waiting for answers!!!

People moan about Letterkenny Hospital but don't realise how lucky we are to have it. I'm 34 and have four children. I have cancer really bad and they have kept me alive for a year-and-a-half now from being on the brink of death. Thank you all.

The consultant was excellent in his care delivery to my husband, however my husband was a private patient. The nursing staff on the ward did their job to the best of their ability with very stretched resources. The hygiene standard on the ward was appalling and there was little evidence of professionals washing their hands. My husband was moved from a single room to a three-bedded male ward and then to a six-bedded male ward within three-and-a-half hours to accomodate female patients at 11pm, with no cleaning of any of the rooms evident. The risk of spread of infection is just too high-this was a surgical ward? My husband had no choice of meals even though he informed staff that he could not eat what was on offer especially at breakfast-do private patients not get meal choice? As a nurse myself in the community I would be appalled to think that patients would be treated this way if under my care. My husband was well looked after in his follow-up clinic appts but does require referral to a hospital outside the county. The management of Letterkenny need to seriously address the hygiene and cleaning standards within this ward and probably across the hospital.

the treatment I received was excellent by all members of staff who dealt with my case.

Found some of the nurses very incompetent to be honest!! They seemed more interested in gossiping among themselevs about fellow staff members and patients than focusing on patients!! Found them to be quite insincere too, which is not a trait I've discoverd in nurses anywhere before!! I also found one junior doctor to be incredibly rude. It was a hellish experience made all the worse for having to be surrounded by such horrid people :(.

Have waited two years for a surgical assessment for an inguinal hernia. I have a nursing degree and actually trained at this hospital. Was subjected to a battery of provocative insinuations about having a lot of problems for a man my age insinuating I'm some kind of hypochondriac, and then was informed that I have no hernia despite two separate examinations by two Gps confirming the presence of one as well as experiencing ongoing pain after lifting and pressure in my lower groin when sitting.

My mum had endless appointments and tests in Letterkenny for two years to be told nothing was wrong with her,at the same time waiting on a list to get her gallstones out, after many months and still no sign of an appointment she went through vhi and had her gall stones taken out in a hospital in Dublin, on the day after her gall stones were taken out, she was taken in for tests as her spleen was enlarged, she was then diagnosed with terminal cancer. If Letterkenny general had done their job properly this may have been caught in time instead of telling her that there was nothing wrong.

I collapsed on holiday in Donegal and was taken to Letterkenny Hospital. The skill and empathy of the paramedics, the coronary care nurses and the surgeon who fitted my pace-maker was superb. I can't speak highly enough of the treatment that I received in this hospital.

I found my child's stay in this hospital a very good experience overall, we were well looked after, staff are doing their best with the resources they have. People should not always blame staff or hospital environments for hospital acquired infections as some of these are airborne or on surfaces like doorhandles etc and are impossible to prevent.

The Paediatrics Ward in Letterkenny General was very dirty and unhygienic and in bad need of an overhaul. It seems that anything will do for the most vulnerable in our society! My baby left the hospital sicker than when she went in because she picked up a virus/bug i.e. “gastroenteritis” while being treated in the Paediatrics Ward.

If the rest of the staff treated the patient instead of drawing attention to themselves for all the wrong reasons with would make a good hospital. Patients should not have to put up with staff rolling their eyes, tapping their finger impatiently and sighing at them down the phone.

Cannot fault the care we received in Letterkenny General day services surgical ward. My small son (4) was being circumcised. Minimal waiting period. We were given updates regularly on the progress, and recovery team were fantastic, and kind. My son's nurse was very caring, and tended to all his needs, she treated him like a child who needed support rather than just another patient. The anaesthetic team were absolutely lovely too, clearly trained properly on how to deal with small kiddies. Really appreciate everything they did for my son today.

I am filling this in for my aunt who has been turned away from the hospital twice in the last two months, last time given medication that she should not of been given and today told that she is riddled with cancer!!!!

There are serious issues in this hospital that are detrimental to patient health. On one visit, a consultant had checked the wrong file and put me on a level of medication that caused a serious health issue requiring immediate hospitalisation, and then I was never told any more about it. There was no apology, no recognition of a mistake having been made...nothing!! I thank God for the quick actions of my GP. After 7years of fighting for a diagnosis of endometriosis, I was told by a consultant that I definitely didn't have it and that he knew better than me. He told me to go home and get pregnant and that would ease my period pains. How insensitive and callous when most people with endo cannot conceive. I was disgusted and humiliated as he laughed at my pain. Not long after I was admitted to the hospital and a laparoscopy comfirmed...Endometriosis! I am always anxious in this hospital because the Doctors have no time to listen to the patients and they are rude and condescending. The A&E is a disgrace. I t affords no Privacy - one's business can be heard all over the waiting room and the treatment rooms are tiny, cramped, dirty and I have been treated in the store-room a few times. The HSE needs to overhaul this hospital before tragedies occur. Saying all that, I do think the conditions are awful for the doctors as well. I don't imagine they are thrilled to work there but it definitely comes across to the patient. Couldn't praise the nurses highly enough. Wonderful bunch of people, truly dedicated to their calling.

Oncology is staffed by very good nurses.

I already made an official complaint directly to the hospital. The treatment I got was atrocious.

Arriving to the hospital unannounced with chest pain, I was seen by the doctor in A&E within 5 minutes. The investigations were all arranged very quickly and everybody treated me very calmly and efficiently. Fortunately I turned out to be okay, so thank you to all the staff there.

DOCTORS AND NURSES BEING FORCED TO WORK VERY HARD IN APPALLINGLY POOR AND CRAMPED CONDITIONS AND I HAD TO WAIT 19 HOURS BEFORE I WAS EVENTUALLY WARDED.

Letterkenny General has the appearance of an outdated, underfunded, poorly managed and unhygenic institute. The redecoration of its main reception is just that, nothing more than decor and even that extends no furthur than the reception area. The rest of the hospital remains run down and filthy. I was seen by a doctor who was exceptionally rude and treated any comments (even my simple 'hello, how are you') and any questions I had with the utmost contempt. I was given no information before, during or after my examination. During the consultation, I informed the doctor that they were hurting me. The response I got was a snappy 'I don't care if it hurts!'. I then asked them to 'please stop' what they were doing. However, my request was completely ignored and they continued without any consideration to me despite the fact that the pain was causing me quite a lot of distress. I asked several times to stop and was insulted instead. Never have I been so badly mistreated by a supposed healthcare professional. A callous unempathetic attitude does not equate professionalisim in my opinion, nor is unnecessary roughness ever acceptable. In the medical profession common courtesy and communication (especially the ability to listen to a patient) are necessary skills. Perhaps certain members of staff would benefit from lessons in patient relations.

I attended an extremely busy A&E late one evening mid-week recently. The reception affords absolutely no privacy or confidentiality for patients. The staff member was more interested in gossiping with a colleague while taking my personal details at the desk. The waiting area is too small and was overcrowded. It's dirty, shabby and uncomfortable. The triage nurse was extremely nice, professional and efficient...she took her workload all in her stride. She told me that there were six people in front of me, which helped as I was in a lot of pain and had no patience for the system. I was seen by a friendly doctor, six people later and within an hour. The doctor seen me in a small, messy room off the main treatment area. It was possibly a storage area! Having had an x-ray I returned to see the doctor again. He explained very little about my diagnosis and treatment (other than to take painkillers and to attend a clinic for further assessment). I asked questions re: my diagnosis and was told, 'no, no you don't understand...!' The doctor basically fobbed me off with a, 'the clinic will answer your questions' statement! Very poor and disappointing relations, surely I was entitled to a simple, straightforward answer. On a plus I was really happy with my short waiting time in A&E. Hopefully Letterkenny's new A&E will open shortly.

I could find no fault with the care received by my husband at Letterkenny General A&E department on a recent admission. The department was extremely busy, but all of the staff, including the paramedics who brought him to hospital were great. The A&E staff were second to none, with undivided attention given to him after his accident. I would highly recommend this hospital. I was here again, 2 weeks later, as my father in law had severe chest pains, and was later admitted and has since undergone Cardiac Surgery in UCHG, but the same care was given to him in the A & E department, and again there was standing room only in the dept with sick people.

I had problems with the doctors putting drips in, and then veins collapsing. On the last night the doctor put a drip in the inside of my wrist into my artery. The nurse was not very nice to me when I told her that when she put the flush in, it was swelling out my hand and cutting off the circulation. It was because the drip wasn't in properly, but she treated me like an imbecile and was rather rude to me. There was absolutely no need to speak to another human being that way.

Overall, I was very happy with the care I received throughout my pregnancy and labour and aftercare.

I was in the maternity unit/neonatal unit having my first child and I cannot commend the staff enough. I have had a very positive experience and very much appreciate the care and attention both myself and my baby were given. All the staff were fantastic.

I was in for a week and the staff were nice to me but the hospital would need to step up a lot in the hygiene department. They would need to take a hard look at how the handle infectious dieases like mrsa- the system they have is just crazy. They go into the isolation wards and use the same equipment for everyone and don't clean the equipment between patients. I saw it for myself and that's just one thing. There are lots more things- I think they would just need to review the whole system.

First of all the hospital is severly out-dated and poorly maintained. I was quite shocked at the poor levels of hygiene kept by the doctors. One particular male doctor had the longest, dirtiest fingernails I have ever seen in my life and he wanted to do an internal exam without washing his hands or even wearing gloves! I felt my rights were completely ignored from the start of my labour all the way through to my dismissal. They didn't even believe me when I said my waters had broken (even tho it had been proven via their own tests & ultrasound). I had a dark green discharge from the day after my waters broke (Monday) until my baby was born on Thursday and a midwife pointed out that it was meconium (a sign that my baby could be in distress). Procedures were performed on me during my labour, internal exams, membrane sweeps, tearing the bag of waters open further through my cervix by hand when I was was not even effaced or dialated (this should never be done) the doctor who did it never told me what she was about to do (told me she was only going to check if I was dilated) she wouldn't stop when I started crying & begging her to stop and she actually told the nurse to hold me down (later when I tried to make a complaint, the hospital staff closed ranks and refused to say or do anything about it, wouldn't tell me her name, I was taken to a room and interrogated as if it was my fault or I was in the wrong). All of this plus the use of a ventouse (looked like an old steel bath plug) to pull my baby's head out (4months later and my baby still has a lump on the little head), an episiotomy, a drip to stimulate (speed-up) contractions (even thought my contractions had been progressing fine before then, I went from not dialated at all to 10cm in under 2hours), and various medications were all done and given to me without informing me or my partner and without either of our consent. The only time my consent was required was when they realsed I was haemorrhaging & the placenta wouldn't deliver ( the doctor had been tugging at the cord with his foot braced against to bed for ages and all that was coming out was blood) so the doctor pushed a piece of paper in front of me and I was told to 'sign this'. I was then rushed into surgery, not knowing what would happen and had to endure 5hours of the doctor trying to manually remove my placenta internally. Afterwards doctors and staff spoke graphically about the procedure while I lay paralyzed on the table with my legs still in the air. I only got to see my baby and husband at 2am the next morning! I ended up with a severe infection and was left to lay in a pool of my own blood (upto my shoulderblades) until the next day because the staff on duty couldn't be bothered and decided to leave it for the cleaning crew. I will never give birth in an Irish hospital ever again. So, help me God.

I was treated appallingly by my doctor. Their name was never given to me, even when I requested it.

I feel ill at ease when anyone goes to this 'hospital'

This hospital didn't tell me that I had a bad infection which could have been spread to other patients or my family. The doctor was very ignorant to me and my family, treating us like we were below him.