Doctor caught in 'compromising position' with nurse during surgery allowed to work

A doctor who left a patient midway through surgery to engage in sexual activity with a nurse has been allowed to continue practising by a UK medical tribunal.

Dr Suhail Anjum, a 44-year-old consultant anaesthetist and married father of three, was discovered in a “compromising position” with a nurse by a colleague at Tameside Hospital in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester.

According to the hearing, the incident occurred on September 16, 2023, when Dr Anjum left the operating theatre for eight minutes. He had asked another colleague to oversee the male patient, who was under general anaesthetic, claiming he needed to use the bathroom. Instead, he went to a nearby theatre where the encounter with the nurse took place.

The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) concluded that Dr Anjum had “put his own interests before those of the patient and his colleagues.” The panel noted the situation with the nurse “had the potential to distract Dr Anjum… and he may not have been able to give his full attention to the patient’s care.”

Tribunal chair Rebecca Miller said while the patient was not harmed, the doctor’s conduct amounted to serious professional misconduct.

Also Read: Pakistani doctor in UK abandons patient mid-surgery to engage in sexual activity with nurse

“His actions, while they did not compromise the patient’s safety, were significant enough to amount to misconduct that was serious,” she said.

She added that the panel believed Dr Anjum recognised his failings and that the risk of repeating such behaviour was “very low.”

“The tribunal considered that members of the public and the profession would understand the high level of scrutiny to which Dr Anjum had been subjected, and that a finding of serious misconduct would weigh heavily upon him,” Miller observed. “The tribunal was satisfied that this public finding of serious misconduct was sufficient to maintain public confidence in the profession and proper professional standards.”

As a result, the panel ruled that his fitness to practise was not impaired. No sanctions were imposed, although the hearing is set to resume in Manchester on Tuesday to determine whether a formal warning should be attached to his registration.

Dr Anjum admitted engaging in sexual activity with the nurse, identified only as Nurse C, acknowledging he knew she was likely to be nearby when he left his patient. He also conceded that his actions carried a potential risk to patient safety.