baby death
© AFP 2018 / Isabel Infantes
According to the Herald, a doctor at Ninewells Hospital in the Scottish city of Dundee was suspended by NHS Tayside after she opted for a vaginal delivery, ignoring a wide range of medical complications indicating that a caesarean section would have been safer.

Doctor Vaishnavy Vilvanathan Laxman is said to have sliced a baby's neck with scissors during delivery, resulting in the child's death. A Medical Practitioners Tribunal heard that Laxman had allegedly failed to receive the mother's consent for a vaginal delivery, as well as asked her to push when she was "not in established labor" and "undertook one or more incisions of the cervix without due care."

The infant was reportedly in the breech position, had abnormally low fetal heart rate and a prolapsed umbilical cord, which indicated that the risks of the baby becoming entangled with it were high.

As the baby boy died during childbirth, Laxman purportedly failed to provide the mother with adequate anesthesia prior to going on with surgical incisions to extract the fetus, and, according to the Herald, "failed to acknowledge [the mother's] requests to stop."

At the hearing, which is expected to last until June 5, the tribunal will also consider claims that the medic neglected her colleagues, who said that she should proceed with a caesarean delivery, as well as fellow doctor's warning that the baby's neck was being stretched.

Laxman has been suspended from practice in wake of the incident in March 2014.

The news comes amid mounting concerns over NHS funding: as key health services are overwhelmed by rising demand during winter, with many starting to call for increased financing, UK Prime Minister Theresa May has pledged to come up with a long-term funding plan for the National Health Service ahead of the spring 2019 spending review, having acknowledged that the system needs an increase in resources.