A GP was punched and hit with a wooden pole by a patient in the Cardenden Health Centre.

The agitated man slashed his wrists with a Stanley knife before launching the assault on the male doctor.

The attacker was 45-year-old Raymond Gordon, of Dundonald Park, Cardenden.

He was jailed for eight months by Sheriff Richard McFarlane, who told Gordon he had “behaved in a quite unbelievable manner” in assaulting his GP “who was going out of his way to assist you”.

He went o: “You repeatedly punched him then struck him with a pole, all within his place of work, a health centre. Quite unbelievable.”

A few days earlier, police were called to his home when he tried to kill himself.

Gordon admitted that on December 16 at Cardenden Health Centre, Wallgreen Road, he behaved in a threatening or abusive manner by striking his own body with a knife, shouted, swore and acted in an aggressive manner.

He also admitted that he assaulted Sunic Sahu, who was acting in his employment there at the time, by repeatedly punching him on the head and body and repeatedly striking him on the body with a wooden pole.

Gordon admitted a previous offence which occurred at his home on December 13. He acted in a threatening or abusive manner by shouting, swearing, threatening to self-harm and making threats.

Depute fiscal Claire Bremner said that the first incident had occurred after Gordon claimed he was “hearing voices telling him in order to become a disciple he would have to commit suicide by hanging”.

He tried to this with the aid of a tow-rope, which he put around his neck and jumped off a radiator. This resulted in a large metal clip on the end of the rope springing up and hitting him on the mouth.

Gordon then called for an ambulance and on the journey to hospital became aggressive towards a paramedic.

When later taken to Dunfermline police station, Gordon told officers: “I was on a mental health meltdown.”

Three days later, Gordon went to the health centre at 3.30pm and asked the receptionist for an appointment with Dr Sahu.

He was told he would have to wait and when the GP had seen all his other patients he spoke to Gordon in his room.

When he had a request for drugs rejected, Gordon “pulled out a Stanley blade from his pocket and started to cut his wrists”.

The doctor offered to bandage the cuts but Gordon “became extremely aggressive, shouting and swearing”.

Ms Bremner went on: “He punched the doctor to the face and upper body. The doctor managed to get into the waiting room and shouted to staff to call the police.

“The accused followed him, continued to shout and swear and attempted to punch the doctor. He then did punch him multiple times on the body.

“One of the reception staff witnessed the assault. She attempted to stand in between the accused and the doctor.

“She had a wooden pole she had been using to close the shutters. The accused took the pole from her, began to swing it and struck the doctor several times on the back with it.”

Defence solicitor Danielle Varela said: “At the time there had been a deterioration in his mental state and he was hearing voices. He has no recollection of the suicide attempt.”