A CONSULTANT suspended from a children's hospital after a baby from Accrington died has been told that he cannot practice as an anaesthetist except under a number of strict conditions.

Mark Leonard Baxandall, of South Bramhall, Stockport, a consultant paediatric anaesthetist at Booth Hall Children's Hospital, Manchester, first appeared before the General Medical Council last year.

Five-month-old Ijax Ahmed, of Accrington, died during surgery to correct a cleft palate and 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, in March 1999. He had made a full recovery.

The hospital is run by the Manchester Children's Hospital Trust, who suspended Dr Baxandall following an inquiry and later imposed conditions which were varied yesterday.

The conditions now imposed are that he shall not practice anaesthetics except under supervision as part of a retraining programme approved by the Royal College of Anaesthetics.

He was also ordered to notify all employers and prospective employers whether for paid or voluntary work for which registration with the GMC is required, of these restrictions at the time of application.