A doctor who abandoned a patient under anesthesia mid-operation to engage in sexual activity with a nurse has been permitted to resume his medical practice.
On September 16, 2023, Dr. Suhail Anjum from the UK was accused of leaving a male patient during surgery to have a sexual encounter with a nurse within the hospital premises.
The incident came to light when a colleague at the hospital in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, discovered Dr. Anjum and the nurse in a ‘compromising position’.
The nurse was allegedly found with her trousers lowered to her knees and her underwear visible, while Dr. Anjum was seen adjusting the drawstring on his trousers.
During the tribunal proceedings, it was revealed that the doctor had left the anesthetized patient in the care of another doctor for an eight-minute interval, under the pretense of taking a bathroom break.
Dr. Anjum, who is married, did not contest the details of the incident and acknowledged having engaged in sexual activity with the nurse, admitting he anticipated she would be ‘likely to be nearby’ when he departed from the operating room.
He admitted that his conduct could have jeopardized his patient, although Andrew Molloy, representing the General Medical Council, indicated that the patient was unharmed by the doctor’s brief absence and that ‘the procedure went on without further incident.’
The 44-year-old also informed the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service that he left the hospital in Tameside in February last year and moved to Pakistan. He expressed his desire to return to the UK to continue his medical career, promising not to repeat what he described as a ‘one-off error of judgement.’
The tribunal has now issued its decision, noting that while it recognized ‘serious misconduct’ on Dr. Anjum’s part, with his ‘inappropriate behavior’ falling ‘far below’ the expected standards, he is considered to have a ‘very low risk’ of reoffending.
No punitive action will be taken against him, though the panel will reconvene to decide whether to issue a warning on the father-of-three’s medical registration.
During the tribunal, Dr. Anjum explained that the incident occurred during a ‘stressful time’ following the premature birth of his daughter in January.
He mentioned that the ‘traumatic’ birth had impacted his personal life and mental health, leading to a ‘disconnect’ with his wife.
“It was quite shameful, to say the least. I only have myself to blame,” he stated. “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 admitted it was ‘unfair’ to ask another anesthetic nurse to cover for him and for placing his colleague in an ‘awkward position’ when she discovered him, but he expressed the most remorse 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 continued. “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 judgment, the panel noted that Dr. Anjum ‘put his own interests before those of the patient and his colleagues’, but chairwoman Rebecca Miller concluded that his current ‘fitness to practice 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 practice in order to protect the public.”