Letterkenny University Hospital (LHU) has welcomed the National Maternity Experience Survey 2025 findings, which reports on the positive maternity care experienced by women earlier this year.
The 2025 report was published by the National Care Experience Programme this week.
The survey invited women who gave birth in February and March 2025 to share their experiences of antenatal, labour, birth and postnatal care.
In total, 205 women who gave birth at LUH during this time were invited to take part and with 95 participants responding, this reflected a response rate of 46 per cent compared to the national average of 42 per cent.
81 per cent of survey participants who gave birth at LUH reported their maternity care in the neonatal unit as being good.
Among the positive feedback received, one mother praised the service saying, “The neonatal staff were excellent. They were so reassuring and comforting at a time when the mother needs it most. I can’t praise them enough.”
While another mother said, “My baby was very well taken care of immediately after birth by neonatal. The neonatal nurses really helped me with latching and looking out for me.”
Areas for improvement highlighted in the survey included: Clear answers to questions during labour and birth.
17 per cent of participants (16 out of 95) said that during their labour and birth, their questions were not answered in a way that they could understand.
The Director of Midwifery is currently working with the different members of the multidisciplinary team to look at ways of ensuring that all explanations are clear and that families understand the care being provided.
Commenting on the results of the Maternity Survey, Marion Doogan, Letterkenny University Hospital Director of Midwifery said, “We are delighted to receive such encouraging feedback about the maternity services provided by our team at Letterkenny University Hospital. We equally value the suggestions from women and families on where we can improve.
“Hearing directly from patients is essential to our work and understanding what matters to them drives us to continually aim higher. I want to commend the maternity teams at Letterkenny University Hospital for their ongoing commitment and support they give their patients on a daily basis.”
Seán Murphy, Letterkenny University Hospital manager said, “Letterkenny University Hospital welcomes the feedback which offers important insight into women’s experiences during their maternity. Letterkenny University Hospital will continue to partner with our teams and our patients to enhance the quality of maternity care we provide.”