A BURY online GP has been slapped with a fine of more than £18,000 after it was found to be operating illegally without registration.

Medical Specialist Company Ltd, based in Knowsley Street, was providing online consultations with doctors and giving medication to patients despite never being legally registered.

The firm was fined £13,000 and ordered to pay a £170 victim surcharge and £5,000 court costs at Manchester Magistrates’ Court, on January 7, after pleading guilty to the charges against it.

It followed an investigation by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) which brought the prosecution after it found the company had been providing a service online for over a year.

The court heard that the firm provided online consultations and dispensed prescription medicines to patients by post between April 1, 2017, and June 14, 2018.

David Bailey, director of the company, also admitted that he knew services carrying out a regulated activity, including the treatment of disease, disorder or injury, are required to be registered by law.

The Company initially applied to register with CQC in October 2015 but this was refused as the service did not satisfy the relevant requirements or regulations.

But, in February 2017 CQC received information indicating that a service was being provided by the company without registration. Following investigation, CQC took enforcement action and issued the company with a fixed penalty notice of £4,000.

However, in February 2017 a second attempt to register the service was made and this too was refused although monitoring of the service’s website showed that Medical Specialist Company Ltd was again providing a service without registration.

The subsequent investigation found doctors’ consultation records, prescription receipts and proof of delivery, which demonstrated that the company had been providing a service that should have been registered with CQC.

Joyce Frederick, CQC Deputy Chief Inspector of Registration, said: "The registration and regulation of online doctors is there to protect people using the services. It ensures that online services can be inspected, monitored, held to the national standards and that, ultimately, they are safe for patients. Operating an unregistered service puts people at risk of harm.

“Online services have a duty to protect those using their services. This provider had previously been warned about operating without registration, and fined, but disregarded our concerns, and warnings, and continued to offer services in contravention of the law and risking people’s safety.

“Where we find providers who are operating outside of the law, we will always consider using our enforcement powers to protect people and hold them to account."

The Bury Times has been asked to make clear there is no connection with this private online company and GP practices in Bury providing services to NHS patients.