Four of Dublin's adult emergency hospitals have been named among the 10 lowest-rated public hospitals in Ireland on Google, according to singlemothersgrants.org.
The Mater, Tallaght University Hospital, St Vincent's University Hospital and Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown all feature in the bottom 10 of a new ranking based on Google reviews.
The Mater has an average rating of 3.06 stars from 625 reviews, followed by Tallaght University Hospital on 3.09, St Vincent's on 3.11 and Connolly Hospital on 3.14.
The Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital in Dublin is also among the 10 lowest-rated, with an average of 3.05 stars from 468 reviews.
One Mater reviewer wrote in June: “A 10-hour wait and terrible service.”
The ranking was carried out by health cost experts at Single Mothers Resource, who analysed Google ratings for 36 public hospitals with at least 100 reviews in late September. The hospitals were ranked according to their average Google rating and the full breakdown of star ratings.
Naas General Hospital has the lowest average rating in the country at 2.86 stars, followed by University Hospital Limerick at 2.99.
Dublin also features at the other end of the ranking. The National Orthopaedic Hospital Cappagh in Finglas has the highest Google rating of any public hospital in Ireland, with 4.66 stars from 224 reviews. St Michael's Hospital in Dún Laoghaire, St Columcille's Hospital in Loughlinstown, the National Maternity Hospital and the Rotunda are also among the country's 10 highest-rated.
The ranking is based solely on Google reviews and does not assess the medical care or clinical performance of the hospitals. Hospitals with fewer than 100 Google reviews, community hospitals and private hospitals were excluded from the analysis.
Dawn Yates of Single Mothers Resource said: “Nobody picks which hospital they end up in when something goes wrong, so the long waits people describe in these reviews are hard to hear, especially for parents sitting up all night with a sick child.”
She also pointed out that staying in a public hospital as a public patient has been free since April 2023, while the €100 emergency department charge does not apply to patients referred by their GP or those with a medical card.
