A senior anaesthetist, Dr. Suhail Anjum, has admitted during a tribunal hearing to leaving a patient mid-surgery to engage in sexual activity with a nurse at a UK hospital. The incident, which took place in September 2023 at Tameside General Hospital in Greater Manchester, unfolded during a gallbladder procedure while the patient was under anaesthesia.
Dr. Anjum, 44, asked for a “comfort break” during his shift, formally notifying a nurse he would step away, and requested another nurse to monitor the anaesthetised patient in his absence. He then entered a neighbouring operating theatre and was discovered in a “compromising position” with a colleague referred to as Nurse C. Another nurse, identified in proceedings as Nurse NT, allegedly found them during this time.
According to the tribunal, Dr. Anjum was gone for approximately eight minutes before returning to complete the surgical operation. Although no physical harm was reported to the patient, the tribunal was told that the event amounted to a serious lapse in professional conduct and put patient safety at risk.
In his testimony, Dr. Anjum acknowledged guilt and expressed deep regret, describing the behaviour as “shameful.” He offered that the incident occurred amid significant personal distress—his youngest daughter had been born prematurely, and his wife had gone through a traumatic birth. He said strained family relations and emotional stress clouded his judgment.
Dr. Anjum trained in Lahore, graduating in 2004, and moved to the UK in 2011 where he held posts in various hospitals before working at Tameside. He left his role in the UK in early 2024 and is currently back in Pakistan. Despite the controversy, he has expressed a wish to return to medical practice in the UK and contended that this was a one-time mistake.
The tribunal will now consider whether Dr. Anjum is fit to continue practising medicine in the UK. The case raises questions about professional boundaries, emotional well-being of healthcare workers, and safeguards to ensure patient safety when medical staff deviate from duty.
