By Charlie Gall
The Daily Record
6 July 2007

A DOCTOR administered a lethal dose of a lung-paralysing drug to two premature babies to “hasten their deaths”.


A hearing was told yesterday that Dr Michael Munro helped the tots to die in an act “tantamount to euthanasia”.

He made no record of his treatment and lied about using pancuronium.

The Aberdeen Maternity Hospital specialist in premature births injected the babies with a massive 23 times the normal dose of the drug.

Dr Munro, 41, is appearing in front of the General Medical Council in Manchester, where he faces being struck off for misconduct.

Counsel for the GMC, Andrew Long, said: “Dr Munro administered the muscle-relaxant drug to both babies and hastened their deaths. This primary focus is admitted and he admits it was outside the accepted professional practice in the field.

“But he denies it was inappropriate and below the required standard.

“The GMC say it was tantamount to a form of euthanasia, although hastening death where it was inevitable in any event.”

The probe, which began yesterday, heard the first child, identified only as Baby Y, was born six weeks premature in June 2005 with blood pressure problems. Six months later, Lewis Anderson was born after just 25 weeks’ gestation with a “significant” brain injury.

In both cases, the parents agreed that the babies should be taken off ventilators.

But the children developed “agonal gasping”, which distressed their parents.

The hearing was told Dr Munro injected the babies with pancuronium and they died within minutes.

But colleagues raised doubts and an investigation was launched, though no criminal proceedings were ever brought.

Yesterday, one doctor gave evidence that Lewis might have survived.

And it was revealed Dr Munro lied to investigators about using pancuronium.

Lewis’s parents, Aberdeen couple Neil and Susan Anderson, did not attend the hearing, which continues.

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