SRINAGAR: A senior Pakistani-origin anaesthetist admitted to leaving a patient in the middle of surgery to engage in sexual activity with a nurse in a nearby operating theatre, a UK medical tribunal was told.
Dr. Suhail Anjum, 44, was working at Tameside General Hospital in Greater Manchester on September 16, 2023, when he walked out midway through a gall bladder operation he was supervising, the Daily Mail reported.
The Manchester tribunal was told that Dr. Suhail Anjum had been anaesthetist for five surgeries that morning. During the third procedure, he excused himself for what colleagues believed was a comfort break, leaving an anaesthetic nurse to cover. Instead, he went to another operating room where he was discovered in “a compromising position” with a colleague, referred to as Nurse C.
A scrub nurse identified as NT, who had gone to collect equipment, stumbled upon the pair. According to the report, Dr. Suhail Anjum was seen adjusting his trousers, while Nurse C was caught with hers around her knees and underwear exposed.
The incident was immediately reported. During questioning, Dr. Suhail Anjum admitted he had engaged in “sexual activity” with the nurse while a patient remained under anaesthetic.
At the hearing, Dr. Suhail Anjum said he was “passionate” about his job but explained the encounter happened at a difficult point in his personal life, as his wife had suffered trauma following the premature birth of their youngest child.
“This was a unique incident. I cannot express how shameful it is to me,” he told the tribunal, adding: “I am genuinely sorry and shamed and fully recognise the seriousness of my behaviour.”
Anjum left the NHS trust in 2024 and has since returned to Pakistan.
