WELLINGTON Medical Centre (WMC) was put into lockdown and other practices alerted after ‘a threat of significant violence toward a doctor’ was made on Friday (December 20.

Police were called and made a number of patrols throughout the day to provide reassurance for staff and patients.

The centre was kept locked and the doors only opened to allow known patients to enter for appointments and to leave afterward.

On Monday, police inquiries were continuing as they searched for a woman in connection with the incident.

Practice manager Lydia Daniel-Baker said: “The partners of Wellington Medical Centre take the safety of our team and patients very seriously and such threats will not be tolerated.

“The police were notified and attended and the main doors were locked on their advice.

“Despite this, we managed to continue to provide a full service, with patients gaining access via our doorbell and intercom.”

Mrs Daniel-Baker said NHS Somerset Integrated Care Board, the commissioner of services at the medical centre, was also made aware of the situation and other local GP practices were alerted to the potential threat.

She said: “The incident caused significant distress to everybody working that day, and inevitably would have been upsetting to our patients also.

“While an incident of this magnitude has not occurred previously, we are becoming increasingly concerned about the growing trend of abusive and threatening behaviour toward members of our team.

“This is never acceptable and WMC will maintain a zero tolerance policy.

“The partners of Wellington Medical Centre would like to thank our patients for their understanding and compassion during this incident.”

One young mother told the Wellington Weekly it had been an unsettling experience to arrive for an appointment only to be questioned while standing outside before she was allowed into the building.

The woman said: “The doors were locked and I did not know what was happening at first.

“When they said about the threats to their staff it was quite scary thinking what if something happens while I am still there or as I leave.”

An Avon and Somerset Constabulary spokesperson told the Wellington Weekly: “We received a call at around 9 am on Friday reporting a woman had made threats toward staff at a medical centre in Wellington.

“Officers attended the centre on a number of occasions throughout the day and have been working with the staff to ensure their safety.

“Inquiries are ongoing.”

The Wellington Weekly has reported previously how the medical centre has seen a number of staff quit their jobs because of a dramatic increase in the amount of abuse they received from some patients.

GPs have warned some people risked being struck off the patient list because of their poor conduct.

The situated appeared to have grown worse since the Covid lockdowns when face-to-face appointments with doctors became an exception rather than the norm.

Since then, patients in Wellington and at many other surgeries have expressed frustration over the continuing difficulty in making timely appointments to see their doctor.