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A UK medical tribunal has heard how a Pakistani consultant anaesthetic, Dr Suhail Anjum, left a patient mid-surgery at Tameside Hospital in Greater Manchester to have sex with a nurse in a nearby theatre.
BBC reports that the incident, which occurred in September 2023, came to light during a fitness to practice hearing involving Dr Anjum.
The 44-year-old doctor had returned to Pakistan after the incident but is now seeking to work in the UK again.
The General Medical Council (GMC) opposed Dr Anjum’s application.
Counsel for the GMC, Andrew Molloy told the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service that Dr Anjum requested a short “comfort break” during the operation and asked another nursing colleague to monitor the male patient.
For about eight minutes, he said, the doctor met with a sexual partner in another theatre identified only as Nurse C and had sex with her.
According to him, a nurse who walked in on the pair during the act was “shocked and quickly walked through the theatre to the exit doors”.
The GMC counsel said Dr Anjum returned to the theatre after eight minutes and completed his work.
“It is right to say that no harm came to the patient when Dr Anjum was absent from the theatre and the procedure went on without further incident,” Molloy told the tribunal.
Dr Anjum, who did not oppose the GMC’s submission, described his behaviour as a “one-off error of judgment”.
He tendered an unreserved apology and promised that such “shameful” action would not be repeated if he is given another opportunity to practice in the UK.
Noting that he had let his colleagues and the NHS trust down, Dr Anjum said, “I offer my sincere apologies to everyone involved and I want the opportunity to put this right.”
