A NORTHERN Province nurse who left a pregnant woman alone in the back of an ambulance and was unaware when she fell out and died, was officially dismissed on Friday after being found guilty of gross dereliction of duty. Stella Kubhayi (25), a nurse at Tintsaolo Hospital in Acornhoek, has five days to appeal against the dismissal. Kubhayi was meant to attend to the pregnant woman, Refiloe Masia, 28, of Greenvalley village who went into labour with her third child at 2am on May 7 and was collected by ambulance. Instead, Kubhayi sat up front with the ambulance driver. Masia fell out the ambulance when the back doors flew open about 7km from the hospital. Both she and her baby died. Health and Welfare MEC Sello Moloto urged all personnel to respect and adhere to the Batho Pele (people first) principles and the Patients’ Rights Charter. Ambulance driver Curtis Mthethwa’s suspension was lifted when the internal disciplinary hearing found him not guilty of gross dereliction of duty. Prosecutors have not yet decided whether to press criminal charges. – African Eye News Service