Consultant Anaesthetist Left Patient Under Sedation to Have Sex with Nurse, Tribunal Hears
A senior hospital doctor has admitted abandoning a sedated patient during surgery to engage in sexual activity with a nurse in another operating theatre, a medical tribunal has heard.
Dr Suhail Anjum, 44, a married consultant anaesthetist, was employed at Tameside General Hospital in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, when the incident occurred in September 2013.
The details were made public during proceedings before the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) this week.
The tribunal was told that during a routine operation, Dr Anjum asked a colleague to oversee the anaesthetised patient, claiming he needed a short break. Instead, he went to a separate operating theatre, where he was later discovered in a “compromising position” with a nurse, referred to in the hearing as Nurse C.
Another staff member, identified only as Nurse NT, told the tribunal she entered the theatre and was shocked to find Nurse C with her trousers around her ankles, while Dr Anjum was adjusting his clothing.
Despite Dr Anjum’s absence lasting approximately eight minutes, the patient remained stable throughout the procedure, and no clinical harm was reported.
However, representatives from the General Medical Council (GMC) argued that his actions posed a serious risk to patient safety and constituted gross professional misconduct.
Andrew Molloy, acting on behalf of the GMC, said Dr Anjum does not contest the facts and has accepted full responsibility for his actions.
He described the incident as an “appalling lapse in judgment.”
Dr Anjum, who has since left his position at Tameside Hospital and moved back to Pakistan, appeared before the tribunal remotely. He told the panel that he deeply regrets his behaviour and has undergone significant personal reflection in the years since.
He also cited difficult personal circumstances at the time of the incident, including the premature birth of his youngest child and increased stress at home. Despite this, he acknowledged that the pressures he faced did not justify his conduct in a clinical setting.
“I let down my colleagues, my profession, and most importantly, my patient,” Dr Anjum said during his testimony. “It was a moment of madness that I will regret for the rest of my life.”
The tribunal will now decide whether Dr Anjum’s fitness to practise medicine in the UK is impaired and whether he should be allowed to return to work under certain conditions, face suspension, or be struck off the medical register entirely.
The hearing continues.
