A British tribunal has allowed a doctor who abandoned a patient during surgery to have sex with a nurse to continue practicing medicine.
Dr. Suhail Anjum, 44, a consultant anaesthetist, left his patient under general anaesthetic at Tameside Hospital in Greater Manchester in September 2023. He told colleagues he was stepping out for a bathroom break, but instead went to another operating theatre to meet a nurse.
Another nurse was asked to watch over the unconscious patient until a staff member walked in on Dr. Anjum and the nurse in a “compromising position.” According to testimony at the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS), the nurse’s trousers were “around her knee area” while Dr. Anjum was “tying up the cord of his trousers.”
The patient was not harmed, but Dr. Anjum was dismissed by the hospital in February 2024 after an internal investigation. At the tribunal hearing, he admitted his actions were “quite shameful,” saying he had let down his patient, colleagues, and the trust placed in him.
Despite acknowledging that he knew the nurse was nearby and that his behaviour could have put the patient at risk, Dr. Anjum told the panel he intended to resume his medical career in the UK after relocating his family to Pakistan.
Tribunal chair Rebecca Miller described the act as “serious misconduct” but ruled that the chances of him repeating the behaviour were “very low.” She added that a finding of serious misconduct was “sufficient to maintain public confidence” in the profession.
The tribunal did not sanction Dr. Anjum, though it is expected to reconvene to decide whether to issue a formal warning on his registration.
