Dr Laxman cleared to work again for NHS

The doctor who accidentally decapitated Laura Gallazzi’s unborn baby was cleared to work again for the NHS following a tribunal.

Dr Vaishnavy Laxman, who is now working in India, escaped censure after the medical tribunal decided she posed “no risk to patient safety” despite the mistakes she had made.

Dr Laxman was found guilty of several disciplinary charges and was criticised for an “error of judgment” during the botched delivery on March 16 2014.

The hearing was told Dr Laxman should have given Ms Gallazzi an emergency Caesarean section rather than trying to deliver the baby, who was in breech position, naturally.

Although the General Medical Council said sanctions should be imposed, the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service said Dr Laxman’s fitness to practice as a doctor had not been impaired.

Panel chairman Tim Bradbury said: “Although the tribunal found Dr Laxman’s decision to proceed with a vaginal delivery contributed to the decapitation of Baby B after he had died, the tribunal was not satisfied that the decapitation of Baby B would have been reasonably foreseeable to anyone in theatre at the time Dr Laxman made her decision to proceed with the vaginal delivery.

“From the outset, Dr Laxman has always maintained responsibility for her decision and the actions which followed during this episode.

“The tribunal was satisfied that even good doctors can make mistakes and that it is sometimes a consequence of the field in which they are practising that the results of their mistakes can be significant.

“In respect of patient safety, the tribunal was satisfied Dr Laxman does not currently present a risk to patients.”

Ms Gallazzi gave evidence to the tribunal and also confronted Dr Laxman during the hearing.

She told a national newspaper she had told the gynaecologist that she did not forgive her for what happened.

Ms Gallazzi added: “She (Dr Laxman) had an apology scribbled in a notebook that her lawyer read out. It was so cheap, as if she’d written it down on the way.”