A medical tribunal in the United Kingdom has heard how a consultant anaesthetist, Dr. Suhail Anjum, abandoned a patient in the middle of surgery to engage in sexual activity with a nurse in a nearby operating room.
The 44-year-old doctor, who is Pakistani, admitted during a recent fitness-to-practise hearing that he left the operating theatre at Tameside Hospital, Greater Manchester, in September 2023 after telling colleagues he needed a “comfort break.” He asked another nurse to monitor the male patient and went instead to another theatre where he had sex with a woman identified as Nurse C.
According to the BBC, the pair were discovered in a “compromising position” by a shocked colleague, who immediately reported the matter.
Andrew Molloy, representing the General Medical Council (GMC), told the tribunal that Dr. Anjum was absent for about eight minutes before returning to complete the procedure. He confirmed that the patient was not harmed and the surgery proceeded without further incident.
Dr. Anjum, who has been living in Pakistan but is seeking to resume work in the UK, did not contest the GMC’s evidence. He admitted his behaviour was “shameful,” adding: “It was quite shameful, to say the least. I only have myself to blame. I offer my sincere apologies to everyone involved and I want the opportunity to put this right.”
The anaesthetist acknowledged that his actions could have endangered the patient and said he had let down his colleagues and the NHS trust. He insisted, however, that the encounter was a “one-off error of judgment.”
The tribunal continues its review of the case as part of his application to return to medical practice in the UK.
