A doctor who abandoned a patient mid-surgery to have sex with a nurse has been told he is at 'very low risk' of repeating the misconduct, a medical tribunal has ruled. Dr Suhail Anjum, 44, left a male patient under general anaesthetic at Tameside Hospital in Greater Manchester on 16 September 2023, asking a colleague to monitor him while he went to the bathroom.
Instead, the consultant anaesthetist went to another operating theatre where he engaged in sexual activity with a nurse, referred to as Nurse C. A colleague discovered them in a 'compromising position', with the nurse's trousers around her knees and Anjum tying up his trouser cord. Anjum was absent for eight minutes; the patient suffered no harm.
Anjum was dismissed in February 2024 after an internal investigation. He told the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) hearing that the incident was a 'one-off error of judgment' and that he wanted to resume his career in the UK after relocating his family to Pakistan. The tribunal found his actions amounted to serious misconduct but considered the risk of repetition 'very low'.
Tribunal chair Rebecca Miller said Anjum had put his own interests before the patient's and colleagues', but was satisfied he was determined not to repeat the behaviour. No sanction was imposed; the hearing will reconvene to decide whether to issue a warning on his registration.
