Abuse towards staff at a local medical practice is rising to an "unacceptable" level, staff at the facility have said.

The Ballochmyle Medical Group took to social media to warn that abuse directed at staff and clinicians has grown over recent times, and that it will not be tolerated.

They say patients whose behaviour is found to be unacceptable will be issued a warning letter, which could escalate to removal from the practice's list.

The Ballochmyle Medical Group was formed in 1997 by the merger of the Mauchline and Catrine practices, and has seen a huge increase in the number of people contacting them.

Many people in the area have claimed to be having issues on occasions with contacting either the Catrine or Mauchline practices.

Just last month the group had to turn to an emergency-only policy for the day, due to increased demand following a public holiday.

In the post a spokesperson for the practice said: "Unfortunately, the level of abuse towards our staff and clinicians is becoming unacceptable.

"As a practice was strive to provide the best level of service we can to our patients, and we are pleased to say that the vast majority of patients treat staff with kindness and respect.

"Our staff come to work to care for others, not to become victims of violence, foul language, threatening behaviour, physical or verbal, or racial abuse/discrimination.

"If you are violent or abusive in any way towards our staff, we have the right to refuse to treat you."

They added: "We follow NHS Ayrshire and Arran’s Zero Tolerance Policy, which is in place to protect our staff being subject to unacceptable language or behaviour, this will not be tolerated.

"If a patient’s behaviour is found to be unacceptable, they will be issued with a warning letter or complete removal from the practice, depending on the severity of the abuse."