A UK medical tribunal has heard how a consultant anaesthetist abandoned a patient mid-operation to engage in a sexual encounter with a nurse.
According to a BBC report on 11 September 2025, 44-year-old Dr Suhail Anjum left a patient under anaesthesia at Tameside Hospital, Greater Manchester, in September 2023. He told colleagues he needed a “comfort break,” but was later found in a compromising situation with a nurse, identified only as Nurse C, in another operating theatre.
Tribunal documents revealed that Dr Anjum was absent for around eight minutes before returning to complete the procedure. While the patient was unharmed, the General Medical Council (GMC) described the act as a grave violation of professional trust.
A nurse who unexpectedly walked in on the pair was said to have been “shocked” before leaving the theatre immediately, GMC representative Andrew Molloy told the hearing.
The case came to light during a fitness-to-practise tribunal after Dr Anjum, who had been residing in Pakistan, sought to return to work in the UK.
He admitted to the misconduct, describing it as “shameful” and acknowledging that it could have endangered the patient.
“It was quite shameful, to say the least. I only have myself to blame,” he told the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service. “I offer my sincere apologies to everyone involved, and I want the opportunity to put this right.”
Dr Anjum attributed his behaviour to personal difficulties at the time, including marital problems and the premature birth of a relative’s child. He admitted he had “let down colleagues and the NHS trust.”
The tribunal, which resumed on 12 September, is expected to decide whether he will be permitted to return to medical practice in the UK.
