A doctor who left a patient under anaesthetic mid-surgery to have sex with a nurse has been allowed to return to work.
On September 16, 2023, British doctor Suhail Anjum was accused of leaving a male patient on the operating table to go and have sex with an unnamed nurse elsewhere on hospital grounds.
The consultant anaesthetist was rumbled when another colleague at the Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester hospital walked in on the pair and saw Dr Anjum in a 'compromising position'.
The nurse reportedly had her trousers down to her knees with her underwear 'on display' while Dr Anjum was appearing to tie the cord on his trousers.
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During a tribunal, the panel heard how the doctor had left the patient under anaesthetic in the care of another medic for eight minutes under the guise of taking a comfort break.
The married man did not dispute the facts of the case and admitted to having engaged in sexual activity with the nurse, stating he knew she was 'likely to be nearby' when he left the operating room.
He confessed that his actions could have put his patient at risk, though Andrew Molloy, representing the General Medical Council, said the patient suffered no harm as a result of the doctor's absence and that 'the procedure went on without further incident.'
The 44-year-old also told the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service that he left the Tameside hospital in February last year and relocated to Pakistan. He said he hoped to return to the UK to continue his work, vowing not to repeat what he said was a 'one-off error of judgement.'
Now, the tribunal service has delivered its verdict, stating that while it found 'serious misconduct' on behalf of Dr Anjum, with his 'inappropriate behaviour' falling 'far below' expected standards, he is deemed 'very low risk' of repeating it.
No sanction will be imposed on him as a result, though the panel will reconvene to consider whether to impose a warning on the father-of-three's registration.
During the hearing, Dr Anjum said the incident unfolded during a 'stressful time' following the premature birth of his daughter in January.
He said the 'traumatic' birth took a 'toll' on his personal life and mental health while he 'failed to connect' with his wife.
"It was quite shameful, to say the least. I only have myself to blame," he said. "I let down everybody, not just my patient and myself, but the trust and how it would look. I let down my colleagues who gave me a lot of respect."
He confessed it was 'unfair' to ask for another anaesthetic nurse to cover for him and for putting his colleague in an 'awkward position' after she caught him, but said he felt most guilty for his patient.
"If my doctor had gone away without telling me… this breaks me to pieces every day when I think about it," he added. "I have always set very high standards for myself because the job is my passion.
"I don’t know how and why it happened, but I wish I could reverse it. I offer my sincere apologies to everyone involved, and I want the opportunity to put this right."
In the ruling, the panel said Dr Anjum had 'put his own interests before those of the patient and his colleagues', but chairwoman Rebecca Miller determined that his current 'fitness to practise was not impaired.'
"Given Dr Anjum’s remediation, insight, and the negligible risk of repetition, the Tribunal concluded that there was no necessity to make a finding of impaired fitness to practise in order to protect the public."
Topics: NHS, UK News, Health, Sex and Relationships
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