Portsmouth Regional Hospital

After 10+ years of dealing with taking my parents here in emergencies, and having awful experiences of incompetence in the ER, I recently had the opportunity to take my three year old there. He had fallen and had a deep but small cut on his head. It was just before 8pm and, while I was going to go to the local urgent care clinic where I would have been charged $ 150, I opted to go to the ER because it was open 24 hours.
After being immediately shown a room, they applied a numbing agent to his head and said they’d be back in 15 minutes to do the one stitch that was necessary. 3 hours (no joke) later, at 11pm, they finally came in and said they could do it. They didn’t bother reapplying the numbing agent, so my little boy screamed as they stitched him up. The ER was not busy. The doctor sat filling out paperwork nearby the entire time we waited. He couldn’t give us 5 minutes.
A few weeks later, I just received the bill for $ 1,400. This was for a total of about 5 minutes of a doctor’s time and some useless numbing agent that they didn’t bother to put on at the right time.
Obviously you don’t always have a choice with where you go can in an emergency. But I would urge you to avoid Portsmouth Hospital’s ER whenever possible. Go to an urgent care clinic or go to a different hospital where you might have a chance of getting taken care of quickly or at a more reasonable expense.

Awful. They got me in and out as fast as possible. Did not ask many questions at all. I had three rashes that all looked the same. The doctor told me they were unrelated and diagnosed me with an extremely common skin irritation. They dismissed all of my other symptoms. I went to Exeter later that day and found out it was Lyme disease.
Portsmouth conducted no tests, took no blood and didn’t take it seriously at all.

My experience here has (thankfully) not been for anything major, but I will say that the service I’ve received each time I’ve been to the Portsmouth Hospital ER has been fair, objective, and courteous.
With a history of blood clots, it’s tough for me sometimes to discern whether I’m having a physical issue or I’m just being overly cautious. The staff here has really treated my visits with high priority, rather than belittling false alarms, which I can’t say for some other area hospitals. What prompted me to leave this review is the phone call I just received which was to check on a recent minor issue I had. That extra level of concern (or protocol — either way) was a pleasant surprise! :)

OK… I have read the other reviews and I can see some truths, and some plain inexperience, and some outright craziness. My wife had ovarian cancer and continues to receive treatment. I have had experience in several hospitals over time, and this is a good one for being a «regional» non major. I would give the staff and doctors an 8, I would give their billing practices a negative one if I would, their ER is solid of which I have had at least 5 experiences with in the past 9 years. My wife got her insurance so it would cover her treatment at this hospital, which was not easy. This hospital is on the insurance’s «not recommended» list… and I see why. It isnt because they do a bad job. They do have various different practitioners, and each bills separately… and apparently they each have their own rules and billing schedules… so for any uninsured treatments, you had better check ahead or you will get a billing surprise. We have had to go several rounds with our insurance and their billing dept.‘s, not just the hospital, but the practitioner in question… just because a doctor does a surgery at a hospital approved by your insurance doesn’t mean he agrees to their billing schedule! But thank goodness that if you go to a hospital recommended by your insurance, they will cover the bill. We had one terrible experience with an anesthesiologist that charged above, and beyond anyone’s chart… and you cannot do anything about it since your not taking applications for each person that is going to be in the operating room and treating you… that is the insurances job when they take on hospitals… and why they go into agreements with each other to contain costs. Every now and then though… one fruitcake can spoil the whole process and everyone associated with that establishment! All in all it is a clean, efficient hospital with knowledgeable and polite staff. If you haven’t been to a hospital in a long time, and get a bill that is nearly 1000 bucks for two stitches… that’s how much I was charged 10 years ago for 7 stitches (but the price was the same for one stitch or 9 I was told). When I complained… I was told I was paying for all the people that didn’t pay! At least I felt that was an honest answer. This hospital is known for its high costs and some of its contractors not playing ball with some insurance companies… that’s why it is excluded from many policies and some insurance companies will not even use it at any cost. But, we felt it was worth searching out a policy that allowed my wife to get treatment through its doctors and the hospital as a whole. If it wasn’t for the crazy individual’s that operate through the hospital this hospital would rate much higher I am quite sure. I have to say money is a huge factor though, and even with us having the insurance there was still the problem… but my wife is still alive… and I have had surgery here too… I had a flawless «operation».

Portsmouth Hospital has received excellent scores for cleanliness, infection control, etc. by the agency that monitors hospital performance. I have used the emergency room and appreciate that you can go online and actually see how many minutes the current wait time is. The hospital is very clean and the cafeteria is reasonably priced and has well stocked vending machines for after hours. I wish the cafeteria was open later – it closes fairly early after dinner. Healthy meals and good variety though…
The maternity ward has state of the art equipment and an impressive baby ID system which looks sort of like a tracking anklet. I guess they feel it is worth it. I visited someone there recently and the nurses are very careful to insure that you belong there and stay appropriate time.
In a hospital, infection control is key and they have hand sanitizers all over the walls. Use them. Note: They don’t guard against a hospital acquired infection called C-​Diff so don’t use as substitute for washing hands, but it is good idea to use these after handling door knobs. I personally acquired a hospital induced infection at another place twice so I like to educate people about this little known danger to visitors and patients.
I have had surgery here several times and I was treated excellently. The staff used safety measures and did not skimp on any of my needs. They also are very concerned with how you feel. Probably one of the best in the area, even though it is part of a giant (HCA) corporation, which demands every penny you owe.
Ask if they take Hill Burton funding if you have no insurance or if you can get financial assistance. If you have none and your needs are non-​urgent there are now urgent care facilities in Kittery, ME and locally that are far cheaper. So earaches, minor injuries without insurance may want to consider alternative.
Valet parking.

UPDATE: Previously I wrote that I was charged 900+ dollars for two stitches. That’s wrong because that was just the ER bill. In addition, the doctors ALSO billed me through a different company for 900+ DOLLARS! That’s almost $ 2,000.00 for two stitches! Is our medical establishment F***** messed up or what? These hospitals put profits over people and don’t give a crap about your health especially this one. They want to make money from you and that is it! Don’t go here unless you have no other choice. (and make sure you have good insurance so they can charge them up the a**hole instead of you.)

I had gone to the Emergency Room here three days after having been rear ended in a car accident. There was literally no wait! I liked that they could scan my drivers license to get all my information entered in as well rather than manually filling out paperwork. That was such a relief since I was in so much pain and it was late. I was seen by the nurse who got me comfortable immediately. The doctor came in not long after and got me in a neck brace and sling with the help of the nurse. She immediately requested xrays and a cat scan. While I was resting the front desk lady came into my room and before taking down my insurance/​billing information, she realized I was cold and got me a blanket from the warmer. She also put all my stuff together so I wouldn’t loose anything. She then sat down and took as much information as she could before the doctor came back in. The lady who performed my x-​rays was sweet and made me laugh. She was quick so it was painless. I ended up knowing the woman who performed my cat scan, she was very helpful and I was comfortable. Also every part of the hospital that I saw, especially my room was very clean! Even one of the janitors helped me pick up my keys when I had dropped them. So sweet and friendly!!!
I was returned to my room and made comfortable to wait for the results. They had me call to get a ride and advised me I shouldn’t be driving and they wanted to better control my pain.
As soon as the xrays came back, the doctor sat down and discussed the results with me. She was calm but direct in explaining my injury and answered my all and many questions! She told me that she wanted to get an MRI done tonight and that normally they wouldn’t wake up a tech to do one but with my injury she felt it was important that we take care of it tonight.
Once it was time for my MRI the tech came in, looking very sleepy and it made me a bit nervous. She was taking some of my information and kept messing up on her words which also made me a bit nervous. She wheeled me down to the MRI room and I could tell she was kind of hoping this would be quick. This being my first ever MRI, of course I was very scared! I don’t do well im small areas and with the sling on and swelling it made for a very uncomfortable experience. I began to panic and asked her to take me out. She seemed slightly frustrated, told me not to move and that the nurse who had been taking care of me would bring me something to calm me down. After that, I completed the MRI. I was discharged that night which I felt was a nice courtesy seeing it was 1 or 2 am and they easily could have kept me longer to charge me for an overnight stay.
All and all I was very please in how I was taken care of, the results the gave me and the promptness of all the staff. I was never left waiting or uncomfortable, which is a huge plus when going to an ER. I want to say my doctor’s name was Katharine and she was wonderful. I wish I remembered the name of my nurse because she too was great. I highly recommend this ER to anyone who asks

Went to the ER during a difficult pregnancy when Exeter Hospital was full. The OB on duty decided that I was just a hysterical pregnant woman, without even bothering to see me or having access to my charts. I was denied my meds prescribed by my own OB and the nurses there didn’t know how to work an IV pump. Stay away.