A UK doctor who left a patient unconscious mid-surgery to have intercourse with a nurse has been allowed to continue practicing medicine.
Dr. Suhail Anjum, 44, admitted the misconduct during a hearing with the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS), acknowledging his actions placed his patient at risk.
While the panel concluded that his behavior amounted to serious misconduct, it determined his fitness to practice was not impaired and imposed no sanction.
Dr. Anjum and his partner were caught in the act while he had a patient under general anaesthetic
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The incident happened at the Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester hospital in September 2023.
According to The Guardian, Dr. Anjum, a married anaesthetist and father of three, asked a colleague to monitor a patient, who was under general anaesthetic, so he could take a quick bathroom break.
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He did not take a bathroom break. Instead, he went to another operating theater with a nurse, listed as Nurse C, and proceeded to have intercourse with her.
They were caught by another nurse who stated that Nurse C had “her trousers around her knee area with her underwear on display” and Dr. Anjum was “tying up the cord of his trousers.”
He was away from his patient for eight minutes. Fortunately, the patient was not harmed despite the doctor’s absence.
The pair was reported to management, and Dr. Anjum ended up being dismissed from his post in February 2024 after an internal investigation had concluded.
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He also relocated to Pakistan, though he has expressed a desire to return to his practice in the U.K.
A tribunal found serious misconduct but no impairment on Dr. Anjum’s part
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During the hearing, representatives of the General Medical Council emphasized that the incident could have endangered the patient, who was under anesthesia.
However, Andrew Molloy, representing the General Medical Council, stated that the operation continued “without further incident” and that the patient came to no harm despite Dr. Anjum’s escapade.
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The tribunal concluded that while it found “serious misconduct” on Dr. Anjum’s part, and that his behavior fell “far below” the standards expected of a medical professional, the risk of the incident happening again was “very low.”
According to Unilad, the panel noted that the doctor had “put his own interests before those of the patient and his colleagues,” though Rebecca Miller, chair of the panel, also highlighted that his current “fitness to practice was not impaired.”
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“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,” Miller stated.
No sanction will be imposed on Dr. Anjum, though the panel will reconvene to consider whether to place a formal warning on his registration.
Doctor Anjum expressed remorse and called his actions a one-off error
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In his testimony, Dr. Anjum described the incident as “quite shameful.”
“I only have myself to blame. 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 said.
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He added that the misconduct occurred during a “stressful time” in his personal life following the premature birth of his daughter in January.
The doctor said the traumatic circumstances had taken a toll on his mental health and strained his marriage.
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“I don’t know how and why it happened, but I wish I could reverse it,” he told the panel. “I offer my sincere apologies to everyone involved, and I want the opportunity to put this right.”
Dr. Anjum admitted that he had unfairly asked another nurse to cover for him and had put his colleague in an “awkward position” when she caught him.
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Overall, he stressed that his deepest regret was for his patient, saying, “If my doctor had gone away without telling me… this breaks me to pieces every day when I think about it.”
“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.”
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“I offer my sincere apologies to everyone involved, and I want the opportunity to put this right,” he said.
Netizens shared their thoughts on the repercussions of Dr. Anjum’s actions on social media
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