No Ban For Pakistan-Origin Doctor Who Left Patient During Operation To Have Sex With Nurse

A doctor who left a patient under anaesthesia on an operating table at Tameside Hospital in Greater Manchester to have sex with a nurse in another room has avoided a ban, BBC reported. A medical tribunal ruled that the doctor, named Suhail Anjum, is at "very low risk" of repeating his serious misconduct.

The incident, which occurred on September 16, 2023, was discovered by a colleague who walked in on the 44-year-old doctor in a "compromising position" with the nurse.

According to the report, the consultant anaesthetist went to the bathroom, asking another nursing colleague to monitor the male patient. But engaged in a sexual activity with Nurse C in another operating theatre at the hospital.

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As per a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) hearing, another nurse said she saw Nurse C "with her trousers around her knee area with her underwear on display". And Anjum, a married father of three, was "tying up the cord of his trousers".

No ban for the "serious misconduct"

The tribunal said on Monday that Dr Anjum "had put his own interests before those of the patient and his colleagues" and the incident "had the potential to distract Dr Anjum... and he may not have been able to give his full attention to the patient's care".

Rebecca Miller, who is the tribunal chairwoman, said that his actions were "significant enough to amount to misconduct that was serious".

However, the doctor's actions did not harm the patient's safety, and Miller was satisfied that he was determined not to repeat the mistake.

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As quoted, Miller said: "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."

"The tribunal was satisfied that this public finding of serious misconduct was sufficient to maintain public confidence in the profession and proper professional standards, and that there was not a necessity to make a finding of impaired fitness to practise for that purpose."

The tribunal is yet to decide whether to issue a warning on Dr Anjum's registration.