London: A senior Pakistani-origin doctor in the UK has been accused of leaving a surgery midway and engaging in sexual activity with a nurse in a nearby operating room.
Suhail Anjum, a consultant anaesthetist, recently admitted before a medical tribunal that he left the patient and engaging in sexual activity with a nurse in 2023.
He was discovered “in a compromising position” with a nurse in the operating theatre at Tameside General Hospital in Greater Manchester on September 16, 2023, The Daily Mail reported.
The two were discovered by another nurse, who reported the incident, leading to an inquiry. Anjum has now returned to Pakistan and practicing medicine there.
The tribunal in Manchester was told that Anjum left the patient, who was having keyhole surgery to remove a gall bladder, because he knew that a certain nurse “was likely to be nearby”, it has been reported.
Andrew Molloy, representing the General Medical Council, told the Medical Practitioners Tribunal hearing that Anjum was serving as the anaesthetist for five surgeries in Theatre Five that morning.
During the third operation, the 44-year-old Pakistani doctor left midway through the procedure for a short comfort break, Molloy said.
According to him, when this happens, a doctor gets cover from an anaesthetic nurse. “There is no dispute that he indicated to the anaesthetic nurse that he was going to the bathroom,” he added.
It was when a scrub nurse went to look for some equipment to prepare for the next procedure in Theatre Number Eight that the matter was discovered.
“The scrub nurse encountered Anjum and the nurse in a compromising position. She was shocked and left to return to Theatre Number Five,” Molloy said.
Anjum told the tribunal that he was “passionate” about his job, but the incident occurred during a period when he and his wife “were not connecting as a couple”, the newspaper reported.
“This was a unique incident. I cannot express how shameful it is to me. I am genuinely sorry and shamed and fully recognise the seriousness of my behaviour. I would like to ensure the panel that it will not happen again, but that does not take away the guilt and embarrassment,” the doctor told the panel.
