A CONSULTANT who was suspended from a children's hospital after an Accrington baby died has now been dismissed.

Mark Leonard Baxandall will not be used by the Central Manchester NHS trust as a consultant paediatric anaesthetist again, bosses said today.

The action follows the death of five month old Ijax Ahmed, of Accrington, during surgery to correct a cleft palate in November 1999 at Manchester's Booth Hall Children's Hospital, which the trust runs.

A subsequent investigation revealed that a second child, a boy of 18 months, had almost died during an operation for a kidney disorder eight months before.

Mr Baxandall, of Bramhall, Stockport, was suspended following an inquiry and imposed a number of strict conditions earlier this year.

This said he must not practice anaesthetics except under supervision as part of a retraining programme approved by the Royal College of Anaesthetics.

He was to notify all prospective and current employers for voluntary and paid for work that needed a GMC licence of the restrictions.

The order did not amount to a full finding of fact but was imposed to "protect the public".

A spokesman for the Central Manchester NHS Trust said today: "After a disciplinary hearing in central Manchester and with consideration of all the facts and evidence it is with regret that Mark Baxandall was dismissed from his post as consultant paediatric anaesthetist at the Central Manchester and Manchester Children's University Hospital NHS Trust."