A consultant anaesthetist left a patient on an operating table under anaesthetic to engage in sexual activity with a nurse in another room, a medical tribunal has been told.
Dr Suhail Anjum, 44, was caught in a “compromising position” with a nurse at Tameside Hospital in Greater Manchester by a shocked colleague during an operation in September 2023.
The incident emerged during a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) fitness-to-practise hearing in Manchester after Dr Anjum — who had been living in Pakistan — applied to resume his medical career in the UK. He admitted the allegations and described his conduct as “shameful.”
According to evidence presented by the General Medical Council (GMC), Dr Anjum requested a “comfort break” mid-surgery and asked another nurse to monitor the male patient. He then went to another operating theatre at the Ashton-under-Lyne hospital, where sexual activity took place with the nurse, referred to as “Nurse C.”
A witness told the hearing she walked into the theatre and saw the nurse “with her trousers around her knees and underwear exposed” while Dr Anjum was “tying up the cord of his trousers.” She quickly left and reported the matter to her line manager.
Dr Anjum, a married father of three, returned to the operating theatre about eight minutes later to complete the procedure. The GMC’s lawyer, Andrew Molloy, told the panel that no harm came to the patient during his absence and the operation continued without further incident.
An internal investigation by the hospital led to Dr Anjum’s dismissal in February 2024. He later moved to Pakistan with his family but told the tribunal last week that he wishes to return to the UK and “put things right,” describing the episode as a “one-off error of judgment” following a stressful period in his personal life.
“It was quite shameful, to say the least. I only have myself to blame,” he said. “I offer my sincere apologies to everyone involved and I want the opportunity to put this right.”
The MPTS hearing is scheduled to continue on Friday.
