A group of ‘anti-vaxxers’ stormed into a GP practice in Hampshire and threatened staff as they were carrying out a Covid vaccine clinic.

GP partners at the Covid clinic in Portchester called the police on the morning of 28 October as a group of protesters entered the surgery during a Covid clinic and tried to shut it down.

A GP at the clinic stated that staff were shouted at and called ‘murderers’, with the GP herself being called a ‘murderous b**ch’, and that the group refused to leave despite staff asking them to.

The GP said “We were doing a Covid clinic that was on the national booking service to offer Covid vaccines to patients whose surgeries were not doing them..two hours into the clinic around eight protestors entered the building with placards and boards, having been outside the practice giving out leaflets. The first I was aware of it was when a patient came in, visibly shaking, saying “I don’t like those people out there”.

Disruption then followed with one particular protestor being very loud and shouting at staff, saying they were going to ‘shut the surgery down today’.

She added: ‘As the waiting room was filling up, we had to then move 20 or so quite distressed elderly and vulnerable individuals outside to queue to get to the back door. It took quite some time to get the protesters out of the building. They then proceeded to protest in the car park, still being intimidating to patients coming for their jab, and eventually moved off the premises around 1pm.’

Hampshire police stated that officers attended the clinic and found a number of people protesting against the Covid vaccine.

The GP said that the protestors had filmed the protest inside the surgery, adding: ‘Given the network of these anti-vaxxers, it’s somewhat disconcerting to think I might be posted online. I know colleagues who received death threats for vaccinations last year.’

She added: ‘There was no regard for the distress they were causing [to patients]. We have the whole thing on CCTV so will be looking at the footage to see if we recognise any of the people who attended.

‘If they are found to be our patients then they will be immediately removed from our list for verbal abuse and intimidating behaviour.’

https://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/news/gp-abuse/police-called-as-anti-vaxxers-storm-gp-covid-clinic/

What do you need to do?

  • Check your Covid clinic site security arrangements and request a review by your Anti-Crime Specialist
  • Ensure staff are trained in conflict resolution and personal safety

Importance: Medium

For further discussion and support, including security awareness training services, contact us  or

Jonathan Gladwin, Director of Anti-Crime Services

Email: security@tiaa.co.uk