Doctor Caught Having Sex With Nurse While Patient Was Sedated - Possible Criminal Offenses He Committed

A consultant anaesthetist has admitted engaging in sexual activity with a nurse while a patient lay sedated on the operating table. The incident took place at Tameside Hospital in Ashton-under-Lyne in September 2023 but has resurfaced during a fitness to practise hearing in Manchester.

The case is back in focus because Dr Suhail Anjum, who had been living in Pakistan, has applied to work again in the UK. The General Medical Council referred the matter to the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS), which must now decide whether he should remain on the medical register. The revelations have sparked outrage over professional misconduct and prompted debate about whether criminal charges could also have applied.

Incident at Tameside Hospital

Dr Anjum, 44, was overseeing five operations in theatre five at Tameside Hospital on 16 September 2023. Midway through the third procedure, he asked a colleague to cover for him, then left the patient under anaesthetic to meet another nurse in a separate theatre.

According to Metro, a staff member walked in on Anjum and the nurse, referred to as 'Nurse C', in a compromising position. Nurse C's trousers were partly lowered and Anjum was seen tying up his scrub trousers. He returned to the patient after about eight minutes.

Although no harm came to the patient, the GMC's lawyer Andrew Molloy told the tribunal that Anjum's behaviour had 'the potential to put his patient at risk', BBC News reported.

Doctor's Admission and Defence

Anjum admitted the sexual activity and said he had 'let down everybody', including the patient, colleagues and the NHS Trust. He described the act as a 'one-off error of judgment' during a period of strain following the premature birth of his youngest child. He apologised to the tribunal, calling the incident 'quite shameful' and saying it still 'breaks me to pieces every day when I think about it'.

Despite this, Anjum has expressed a wish to return to medical practice in the UK. The tribunal must now decide whether his fitness to practise has been permanently impaired.

Possible Criminal Offences

While the case is being treated as professional misconduct, legal experts say several offences might have been considered. One is misconduct in public office, which applies when someone in a position of trust wilfully neglects their duties. Prosecutions are rare and usually involve direct harm.

If the patient had suffered injury while unsupervised, Anjum could also have faced prosecution for gross negligence manslaughter, according to Crown Prosecution Service guidance. Although England has no statute covering sexual activity while on duty, conduct of this kind in a hospital theatre could in theory amount to outraging public decency.

No police investigation has been reported, and the case remains with the GMC and the MPTS.

Concerns in the NHS

The revelations have reignited debate about professional standards in NHS theatres, where patients must place complete trust in doctors. The MPTS has the power to suspend doctors or strike them off the medical register. In 2024, 61 doctors were erased following misconduct hearings.

NHS leaders stress that such boundary violations remain rare but warn that when they occur, they can severely damage public confidence.

The tribunal is expected to rule soon on whether Dr Anjum will be struck off. While no harm came to the sedated patient, the fact that an anaesthetist left mid-surgery for sexual activity has raised serious questions about ethics, accountability and the limits of professional regulation.