The care was second to none while in the hospital. The Nurses were very good to me. The meals…read moresurprised me they were very nice, sometimes the veg looked a bit steamed but was edible.

It's odd but when I thought about reflecting the experience here the first thing that struck me was…read morethat there's likely 20 different trade unions representing members in this employment: consultants, doctors, radiographers, nurses, boiler-men, podiatrists, junior clerical, senior management and so on. We were here to visit a relative experiencing real challenges. He got a heart - related device implanted several weeks ago: AF, cardiomyopathy. Once fitted, he took himself off to southern Spain allegedly to relax which he tells me included extensive exertion swimming long distances in the sea every morning. The upshot after a few weeks was he developed an infection in the surgical wound that led to Spanish hospital admission. Once fit to fly he returned home on a Saturday, presenting to the private hospital that fitted the device on a Monday. He's there now four weeks. I suppose there's no fool like an old fool after all. They've apparently thrown out the first €12k device. They'll put in another at €12k once his infections, that following a TEE procedure also confirmed a heart infection, clear up; with the help of pretty sizeable antibiotic doses. The Irish Republic has an American - based medical system thanks to a numbskull politician Mary Harney; it also has huge housing, education and immigration problems. Mary is now 71 and may soon learn first hand how awful the health system is for 99% of the population. All she needs is one serious illness to empty her bank accounts: doctors must have their pockets stuffed with gold. The American system gives most Irish people the worst of all worlds despite paying a lot of money. They aren't treated on clinical need rather and usually via pricy insurance on ability to pay. Despite good health insurance our relative now has to find at least €40,000 and counting from his own resources this year. That would make one ill. The hospital is grotty, third world, chaotically run, with a Starbucks cafe in the main concourse that on top of already rip-off prices forces customers to use paper cups then adds 35 cents to the daylight robbery price for each cup. There is only one out of three toilets working here. A hospital, and the only one for miles around, has one working toilet for a lot of footfall and security staff that don't have English as a first language, taking the brunt of understandably unhappy people. They are the only folks prepared to take these low wage, crap, thankless jobs. If immigration stopped so would this badly broken health service that only helps fill the overseas bank accounts of multi millionaires and billionaires. The lily livered politicians are in fear and hock to these people instead of taxing and regulating them properly. Add to this mess Apple: not the fruit that keeps doctors away but the American mega company and the European Court of Justice who ruled Apple must pay Ireland €14 billion. It's a long story worth googling, there's a history here as Apple didn't want to pay and Irish politicians didn't want to receive. Yip it seems an Apple that pays keeps investment away. I think the politicians just don't know how to waste that amount of money. So the hospital reflects Ireland. It looks great from afar but up close it's broken. They can't even organise enough cataract operations to help repair their elderly citizens that built the country. Now it's a mini America. The politicians are useless so nothing will change. While they bungle, bluster and cock up most things (while enriching themselves) the mega companies, foreign and local millionaires and billionaires stuff the Caymans and such places with enough money from the great unwashed to make the €14 billion look like crumbs on the balance sheet. As for me I better stop visiting ill relatives in badly broken hospitals in a very badly run country.

I had a very bad throut and the stuff they gave me is amazing but had to wait 4 hours for a 30ml…read morespray

They looked after my daughter a number of years ago and they where excellent! The staff not just…read morelooked after my child but me and my wife, loads of parking availible and there is a garage and a few food places 2 mins walk away l, only issue if the hospital would need a Wee but if an update as starting to show its age!

Today I visited the minor injuries unit at Bangor Hospital as I have had an extremely sore elbow…read morefor a few weeks. I really don't like hospitals and only went because I was in agony! I arrived at the hospital at about 4pm, went to the reception and the lady there took my details and told me to wait in the waiting area. There were only a few people about and only one other couple in the waiting area. I found myself reading the notices around the walls while I was waiting. The waiting room was clean and there was a few toys in the corner for kids. After about 20 minutes and just after the other lady was called a nurse called my name and I followed her into the cubicle in the treatment area. I got my examination and a diagnosis of my injury and that was me, all within less than an hour. Painless- hopefully my arm will be too soon!!! As the name suggests this hospital is able to treat minor injuries and has the ability to X-Ray but more serious conditions should go straight to emergency dept. at Ulster Hospital Dundonald.

Dealing with nursing staff is always rewarding and they do their very best in adversity but they…read moreare continually underpaid and undermined by a vicious senior management team that routinely deceive, and a political class who have abandoned the service and gaslight electors. It's obvious too just looking around the unit we were in that the deadly cutbacks are incredibly savage. As we left in the lift from level 9 an elderly lady, barely able to stand got in at level 5. She had a small carry case and a walking stick. She was tearful telling us that she had been kept in, prepared for surgery and shortly before she was to be operated on it was pulled as they 'needed a specialist'. Apart from the obvious questions and sheer waste of a scarce valuable resource how could this be allowed to happen to vunerable people but it's a story we hear all too often. She had no idea when she will be called back so she'll have to continue to live in acute pain seemingly until the 12th of never.

Ok so probably weird me doing a review of a hospital but I have been here for a few days and I just…read morehad to say how amazing the staff who work here are!! So helpful and friendly and cannot do enough for you. I would obviously not go out of my way to be here but I'm glad I'm at this hospital out of them all. The food leaves a little to be desired lol But I recommend the jelly and ice cream ;) haha

I had occasion to go to this NHS hospital yesterday to accompany someone else who needs weekly…read moretreatment to alleviate excruciating pain from a long-term disorder. When I attend the NHS now, two things hit my mind instantly, what would we do without this fabulous institution and why are the nursing & ancillary staff paid so very little for the life-enhancing work that they do daily. For those who think it socialism it's not; at its simplest level it's a sensible economic and societal policy to have a fit, healthy workforce and society. No one asks you for a credit card when you need treatment or what your worth. Introducing profit to medicine will instantly go to what should always be protected - the fundamental trust at the heart of the relationship between doctor and patient - and destroy it. Only a few months ago our nurses had to take to the streets just to get a paltry pay rise promised yet unpaid by politicians for years. Today, with Covid 19, these wonderful human beings put their lives on the line day and daily with a smile. Wow. Those politicians, who voted down their long overdue, paltry pay rise just a few months ago, now heap them with praise. They have the temerity, and the gall, to praise and to applaud them on Thursday nights as has become our way to say thank you to the best of us, yet many of these rancid hypocrites voted not to increase their pay. In fact one UK prime minister believed there was no such thing as society. The outworking of Covid 19 disproves this for the palpable nonsense it was. Most emetic of all is that these politicians enjoy considerable pay increases year on year. Of course, they rig it by appointing a panel of 'safe hands' actually interdependent, not independent people - and they say their pay & pension increases are decided independently, but they neglect to say that they can always say no, which isn't a word they have ever used when grabbing as much dosh as they can get their ferociously greedy mitts on. They neglect to say that when these 'interdependent' bodies also recommended pay increases for low paid public sector employees the same MP's did say no. And back to Covid 19 and a health service that was already wilfully starved of resources and intentionally driven to its knees by politicians - the staff can't get testing nor adequate protective clothing yet early on in the crisis the politicians awarded themselves £10,000 each to assist their having to work from home. There's about 650 of the greedy bastards. It takes no time ever, no matter what the event, for our self - serving political class to whet their insatiable greed for our money. The world is not enough for these people. So let's hope, as we come out of this, that they applaud less and pay more to the best of us and put themselves last just once. For the first time.

New hospital for the South West region of Northern Ireland, opened in June 2012 and provides state…read moreof the art facilities to provide for the needs of the community for the future.

The mobile breast screening unit is situated in the grounds of Ards hospital .This is for the…read morepurpose of all women over the age of 50 to be invited to attend the unit for breast screening every three years. This screening is called a mammogram which is a special X-ray which can spot cancers that are too small to see or feel. The whole procedure involves an opportunity to ask any relevant questions and then to have each breast X-rayed. The whole procedure takes less than half an hour and the mammogram itself will only take a few minutes. The X-rays will be reviewed by a specialist and the results will be sent to your home and your doctor in about two weeks. So ladies if you haven't availed yourself of this service don't be afraid, that half an hour could literally save your life.

Ards Hospital will always go down in history, there will come a time when tourists will flock there…read moreto honour the birthplace of a literary great. That is because Ards hospital is responsible for delivering wee baby me around 23 years ago. Unfortunately they no longer offer midwifery, some say they reached the pinnacle around 23 years ago but others argue that government budget cuts encouraged the closure of this centre. I believe the former. Ards Hospital really is a shadow of its former self, but it still plays an important role in the community. They offer a walk in service Monday to Friday and if I was to have a minor injury I would bypass Hospitals that are closer to my home in order to go to Ards hospital. Day care, Outpatients facilities and minor operations are also preformed at Ards Hospital. Ards Hospital has always been extremely sympathetic to its patients needs. It has the feeling of a Family GP practice rather than a city hospital. The building itself has the same personality as the staff, wise and open with a whole lot of knowledge to share. It was once a Victorian workhouse but there is no need to worry about being served gruel at Ards today as they offer full catering department equipped with an affordable café for patients and visitors. All in all I would commend this hospital for its character and approach to care.