Community member complained about her care to me

I just got back from the supermarket. I saw a woman who I know back at her job after she had been off for awhile after her hysterectomy. She runs the plant dept there. I asked how she liked her time off. I had seen her at the hospital where I work when I floated to med-surg.

She was very upset at the care she received. First she told me that she didn't like that she was in the hospital for 6 days, and when I expressed surprise at the lenth of her say she started telling me about the bad care she got. She said that her abdomin was getting more distended everyday, and when she told the nurses they wouldn't listen and they told her that she wasn't supposed to have a flat abdomin at her age (early 50's and very fit). She kept telling them that it was getting worse. It turns out that she was bleeding internally and they had to open her up again. She also asked "What ever happened to bedbaths?" She didn't get a bath for 6 days.

I was pretty upset, frankly I left med-surg because there is a poor work ethic there among quite a few of them. There's a ton of ridiculous visiting at the nurses station, and lots of problems. I encouraged her to give feedback to the hospital about this. I told her who to call who follows up on these things, and assured her that this person takes her job very seriously. I said that the hospital does want this feedback and they have a special form to fill out. I told her that she can also talk to the person on the phone, to just ask for her when she calls the hospital. The hospital knows that unhappy customers tell their negative experience to 10 other people. She told me that she's told it to way more than that.

It discourages me because I know there's been inconsistant leadership at the hospital with temporary managers, due to very poor upper management leadership. I feel like we tarnish our reputation because of poor accountablity where it counts. It's frustrating. I like to feel proud of where I work.