Excellent care thanks to doctors, nurses an staff for my 2 week care.

Wonderful staff. Tremendous care. Filthy hospital. Disgusting food.

I would like to thank all the staff of the endoscopy ward for the outstanding care I received. I was made to feel at ease from the get go due to the friendly nursing staff and doctors who looked after me.

Have been treated with the utmost care and attention. As stretched as the staff are I have found them to be outstanding in their level of professionalism and care. Nobody relishes a trip to A&E but I can honestly say that Waterford Regional has been outstanding. Unfortunately I ended up on a trolley overnight while waiting for a bed, but this is not the fault of the wonderful staff.

It was a normal appointment for pregnancy. Should be seen at 2.15. But was seen at 2.50 because no doctor was there. Doctor came in strolling at 2.15 eating ice-cream. Full corridor of pregnant women. So tell me why do you make appointments for 2 and 2.15. So we sit miserably in heat? When you are on late stages of pregnancy it is hard. Air conditioning would help and a bit of common sense planning appointments.

My sister was diagnosed with a serious disease during her stay in WRH and she had some very horrific experiences. She was particularly distressed when she had a tube inserted, the individual who performed the procedure shouted at her several times despite the fact that she was panicking that she was afraid of choking. When she went for an MRI the procedure was not explained to her, when she thought the procedure was over and tried to get up she was again shouted at, told to lie back down. When she eventually got out, she had tears streaming down her face. A member of staff brought her tissues and she brought them to her eyes and was yelled at 'what are you doing, those tissues are for the earphones, give them to me'. She was discharged with no follow-up information. There were also several ward-based issues and let's just say the 'hello my name is...' hasn't been introduced to WRH yet.

Presented with on ongoing issue in A&E after referral from doctor due to chronic abdominal pain at about 11.30. My ultrasound appointment was going to take one year to find out what was causing it. Got through A&E fast enough. Diagnosed with two kidney stones on one side and could not be released due to swelling etc... I could not get procedure to remove them without a bed and no beds were available. I spent the night in a busy corridor outside the doors to the A&E ward, a waiting room with TV beside me and doors to minor injury etc... behind me. Got a bed in a different department about 13.45 the next day, they were hoping for a slot to get me sorted. That night was stopped fasting and told Monday unless it gets very bad then shipped to another hospital that has 24/7 cover. Nurses run off their feet with patients calling and I was lucky to be in private room till Monday. I feel even luckier to have had that room because there was a patient on the Ward with dementia that wanted to keep pulling their trousers down. Monday moved to main ward fasting (not Urology) that was full of men and at the end of the day no slot due to backlog of weekend etc... Monday passed the stone and that night dementia patient shouting all night. I doubt anyone got any sleep. When I was not fasting the food provided was vile. Lukewarm potato croquettes and a sulfurous omelette made with some canned cheese that would make the strongest gag. Too sick to eat chicken breast with veg. Inedible Shepherds pie was lukewarm as well and full of salt, not good for kidney issues. Luke warm white pudding and sausages. One hot meal of processed chicken breast in soggy breadcrumbs. All desserts had a squirt of canned sweet cream. Get more nurses and open more wards!

If I could rate zero I would, this hospital should be closed down, from higher management it is very clear patient care is very low on the list of priorities. Having recently been in the hospital with an unknown infection, my care was unacceptable. As for the wards you have to be in there to really see what goes on, eg. care assistants writing vital readings on paper towels. As soon as I could keep my eyes open for a few minutes I had to discharge myself and get the correct care I needed elsewhere. If you can avoid this hospital, do.

I had been admitted through A&E on three occasions with gall bladder pain and infections/inflammation. I was treated with the utmost care and attention and all the staff are lovely, kind and considerate. Although the wait time to be admitted to a bed was lengthy I appreciated that a lot of this was waiting on lab results from tests I was having. I was confirmed with stones and on planned procedure list but following a further 2 admissions I finally got Mr Murphy who agreed to complete the surgical procedure as it was grossly interfering with my life and increasingly missing days from work due to the severity of the attacks. I do feel that if anything could be done at all to speed up the wait list times for public patients then it would alleviate the resources been used in coping with peoples ongoing symptoms in my case progression of gall stones/attacks that were getting more severe and closer together resulting in me taking up personnel's time in A&E needlessly had I been able to have the procedure earlier. This type of illness is progressive and cannot be treated as non emergency with an ongoing never ending public wait list. One criticism I have is the evident lack of communication from one visit to the next. In my case I was re-admitted five days later and it was evident that there was no cross over of results. Large paper files are weighing staff down ... get rid of paper and get a decent computer notes system in.. HSE need to make major changes in this area. There should be a complete overhaul of the hospitals record keeping and IT upgrading.

I have lost count of the times I have visited Waterford hospital. The care is up there with the best. Dr Owens in this case was professional and approachable and is obviously held in the highest respect by his team. Every member of staff I came in contact with from admissions to porters, cleaning staff, catering staff, and of course the brilliant nurses and medical teams, were all pleasant kind and professional. No one likes going to hospital, but Waterford deserves the gold star.

My elderly father attended Waterford Regional with a serious health issue. Having been in extreme pain for a number of months, he was referred to a consultant in Dublin for review and possible surgery. Unfortunately that consultant was unable to see him as he wasn't in the catchment. He went back to Waterford and eventually got an appt. He came home distraught, back to square one and dealt with in an inhumane manner where the consultant put his hand up when my father tried to ask him a question. If I had the money to send him to see someone privately I would. That hand in his face has affected him to this day.

The care of the staff in Waterford is up with the best. I acquired ill health 11 years ago and have been in Waterford frequently since. The care and treatment by all staff in all departments is world class. This may have less to do with the HSE and government and more to do with everyone from the cleaners to the dining staff to the nurses, doctors and secretarial. They do what is above and beyond the call of duty to ensure patients are treated in an effective and caring way. Waterford known locally as Ardkeen. You're the best!!! Thank you for saving my life.

Doctors didn't seem to know what was going on, just wanted me gone out of ward. Was supposed to be a private patient but mostly got seen by an intern who was very condescending and informed me of my transfer to a different hospital in the corridor as I was returning from x-ray. Very unprofessional!!!

I attended the emergency department for treatment and was refused treatment and when I asked what their protocol was, the consultant while very respectful and polite and informative, but clearly wasn't aware of the published best practice. I was denied treatment and discharged. I attended another hospital within the region and that hospital in question took me in immediately, provided me with necessary treatment and medication and referred me to a Dublin hospital, where three consultants were horrified I had been refused treatment and found it incredible that a regional hospital consultant would not be aware of best practice or gold standard treatment. So much so that one of the consultants contacted Waterford University Hospital. The staff were very professional and respectful in Waterford but were lacking in knowledge and best practice. If I hadn't gone to another hospital I would have suffered life-long effects. Thankfully because of the treatment I received In a different emergency department, the outcome was good!

I have every confidence in the Ophthalmology Team at UHW, including the staff who perform the screening processes, not forgetting the very capable and very busy Phlebotomy Department.

I arrived at Waterford hospital with abdominal cramps in severe pain. I was also over 2 months pregnant. Presented myself in A&E where I was spoken to in a completely unacceptable manner. I was sent to maternity and was told 'what are you even doing here, go back to A&E, what would make you think you can just present yourself here?' Was told once again by A&E to go back up to maternity (all the while I'm doubled over in agony) so once again back up to maternity I go, sit there for four-and-a-half hours before a nurse asked what I was waiting there for. She said it would be ages before anyone could see me, sat for another two hours and was called in. Where a nurse took my blood pressure and a urine sample and told me to sit in a room. I sat there for another 3-4 hours in agony without a peep from any staff member, I politely asked one of the staff members if they knew at what stage in the night I would be seen as I could tell my partner to go home if it'd be much longer. She replied 'you'll be seen when you're seen now sit down, we are busy people'. Another few hours go by and I say I can't take the pain anymore, it was only at that stage (still after a long wait) that a doctor came in and the first thing she said was that no one had told her I was there. She then went on to do a scan which showed the baby had no heartbeat. I panicked and she said don't get fidgety on me. She said there's no heartbeat the pregnancy isn't viable you will either miscarry naturally or get a D&C done if I don't pass the baby naturally. And that my doctor or hospital back home will take care of that. And that was it she left, a nurse then came in and said 'oh well you're young, it's common, now I need the bed you're laying on, you go on home now'. Awful horrendous experience that I wouldn't wish on anyone.

Very impressed and very clean

I was left feeling like an idiot for voicing concern over the wellbeing of my unborn child, as if I was an inconvenience. Overall, I felt the comments made by one of the midwives were flippant, disrespectful, obnoxious and rude. Another member of staff followed me out of the room afterward and told me to pay no attention to her...what kind of service is that?! I left feeling confused, overwhelmed and stressed, with a sense of dread regarding my next appointment. When the time comes, I would rather give birth on the side of the street.

Top class service, 100%

The only area which requires attention to improve the hospital experience is the catering/food quality.

The patient was sent by their own doctor with a letter stating to be treated as an urgent case. When we arrived at main entrance, all the disabled parking spaces were taken by non-disabled sticker cars. We we went into the main door and we thought we we in a disco with the big crowd and loud music. After we were told to go to the A&E department and give all details, we waited about 10 minutes and were seen by the triage nurse and then told to wait to be called by the doctor. As we were made an urgent case I thought great - wait half an hour and we will be called. We were booked in at 2.00 pm and seen at 2.20pm. Then left until 7.30pm. I went to speak with a nurse to see how long we would have to wait and was told that we will be seen in rotation. I explained that the patient was in severe pain and was told that she would see what she could do. 2 hours later still no sign of being called in. Finally at 7.30 pm we were told that the chart and letter from our own doctor had been mislaid. What I don't understand is why everyone who arrived after us was seen and dealt with. As far as the staff were concerned, they were very good. The only thing I have to complain about is the way we were left waiting with a serious condition for almost six hours. As for a score out of 10 I will give it a score of 3.

The consultant I had the misfortune to deal with could not have cared less about my child and her health. The calibre of the medical advice I received as a parent, I realise now through hindsight, was very, very poor indeed. I shall never ever trust a medical professional again.

This was my first stay in hospital for many years and I have to admit I was very apprehensive. I found this to be unnecessary as I was treated very well by all the staff. The nurses were fantastic and were able to divide their valuable time to ensure that every patient received as much attention as they required. The theatre staff were fantastic and made me to feel as easy during every part of my procedure. The consultant was very attentive and explained everything that I needed to know so as to allay any fears that I had.

I feel I got top class care in UHW. I saw staff being courteous and efficient despite being really busy. I saw some patients complaining about perfectly reasonable delays. It is worth investing a bit of time to avail of the best possible outcome.

I just spent four days in WRH - all the staff were superb, helpful and kind. I did not meet one member of staff who was not good. Everything was explained to me in detail that I could understand. I feel the hospital is very understaffed and the staff are all doing a lot more than there bit.

Definitely degrading in quality every time I have to go there; standards of cleanliness in wards, outpatient clinics and general areas appalling (I hate to say that, but it's the only way to describe it). Individual staff are fine but overall the level of competence is lacking - kept waiting for eight hours for ultrasound to investigate if I had appendicitis; when they finally sent me for scan, the department was locked up and everyone had gone home, so never got scan at all in the end. Luckily for me it wasn't appendicitis. I was told I'd have to wait until the next day when the ultrasound tech would be back on duty so I discharged myself and went home). Other experiences even worse!

Got called in for appointment to tell me (after two years on waiting list) that I'd be undergoing a surgical procedure to investigate complaint. Doctor who informed me was not one who I had met before and spent most of the short interview telling me he wouldn't be there next week as he was going on holiday, so second doctor who would be doing the procedure was also another one who had never seen me before and had no knowledge of my case. Never explained to me reasons, purpose, risks, etc of procedure (had to look it all up on internet when I got home). More concerned about getting out on time for his holiday than treating patient.

Huge difference in how I was treated by consultant, staff, etc in the respiratory department and in other departments. Treated me like human being, spoke to me politely, explained what was going on, what they were going to do, reasons for it. Consultant was a gentleman, addressed me by name and looked in my face and spoke to me like human being (very unlike his colleagues in other departments), explained things fully to me and treated me with courtesy and intelligence.

Ten hours sitting in a chair. Had to ask for pain killers and not even a glass of water came with them. I was sick going in but 10 hours in a chair with no food and I couldn't move in case I was called. I was then told the result in front of everyone.

The latest waiting place for patients now is spending six to eight hours on a chair in the freezing cold. A new low for hospitals. People end up sicker due to hours sitting in cold drafty areas, even after being brought to the hospital in an ambulance. Literally dumped at the mercy of the emergency room staff or lack of staff.