The nurses who were stationed at the Katutura state Hospital were found guilty during a hearing by the Health Professions Council of Namibia in May this year.
Isebel Akawa, Leopoldine Mbendeka and Bertha Mutikisha were each suspended for two years when they were charged for causing the death of Juliana Kleopas (41) and her unborn baby on 3 May 2012. The nurses each had one year of their suspension set aside.
Kleopas died of a heart attack on 3 May 2012 at Katutura State Hospital after being in labour for two days during the time the three nurses were on duty.
Kleopas was scheduled to undergo a Caesarian section in April, but the operation could not be carried out because the medical staff reportedly told her it was a public holiday.
The nurses were found guilty on three charges - that they omitted and/or neglected to correctly diagnose Kleopas' health needs, prescribe, provide and execute the correct nursing regimen.
The manager of Legal Services at the Health Professions Council, Johanna Nghishekwa, confirmed this week that the nurses had appealed and that the hearing of their case has been scheduled for 23 January 2015.
“The nurses' legal team from the Shikongo Law Chambers needs time to prepare (for the case) since they were only briefed two weeks ago,” Nghishekwa said.