TAP GP Also known as Tap GP Limited

Updated 22 June 2023

The service is provided by TAP GP Ltd (the provider) which is registered by the CQC in relation to the regulated activity Treatment of disease, disorder or injury.

The provider’s registered location is A M P House, Dingwall Road, Croydon CR0 2LX, where it retains meeting facilities. However, all staff working within the service do so remotely.

The provider offers a private GP service, by telephone and online video consultations bookable via a secure mobile application (app.). To be eligible to register for an account people must be aged 16 or over. Parents or legal guardians may later add children aged under 16 years old to their primary service account after the initial registration.

The service operates between 8:00am and 10:00pm seven days a week. People can book a 10-minute telephone or online video consultation with a GP, which may be extended if necessary. Payment is made by credit card, linked to the service account at registration. The current fee for a 10-minute appointment, including issuing a prescription, is £29.00. GPs will only issue prescriptions following online video consultations, having established the patient’s identity.

Prescriptions are issued using an established online private prescription system. Patients are sent a text message and email with a unique code that can be presented to a participating pharmacy to dispense the prescribed medicines which are delivered to the patient’s nominated address. Alternatively, patients may request their prescription to be sent to a pharmacy of their choice for them to collect the dispensed medicine. Patients will to be charged a separate fee by the pharmacies involved. The provider charges an additional £9.00 each for fit and sick notes and referral letters, payable at the time of the appointment. Patients can access the records of their consultations via the service app. The service is not intended to provide care in relation to the management of patients’ long-term health conditions. People requiring such care are referred to their own GPs or a private service. Nor is it an emergency service; people with emergency healthcare needs are advised to call 999 or are directed to their local Accident and Emergency centre.

There was sufficient staffing to deal with current service demands. GPs conducting consultations are registered with the General Medical Council with a licence to practice and are on the GP Register. They are also on the NHS National Performers List and currently working in the NHS. One of the GPs was also the registered manager for the service.

How we inspected this service

Before the inspection we gathered and reviewed information from the provider. We carried out the inspection via online conferencing. During this inspection we interviewed the registered manager and reviewed a number of patients’ healthcare records. We did not speak with any patients but received direct feedback from 57 who submitted comments on their experience of the service via a link on our website.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we ask the following five questions:

• Is it safe?
• Is it effective?
• Is it caring?
• Is it responsive to people’s needs?
• Is it well-led?

These questions therefore formed the framework for the areas we looked at during the inspection.

Updated 22 June 2023

We rated this service as Good overall.

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? – Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of the service commencing on 17 May 2023 as part of our inspection programme. TAP GP Ltd, (the provider) was registered by the Care Quality Commission in November 2021 but the service did not start operating until June 2022. This was the first inspection of the service.

The provider offers a private GP service, by telephone and online video consultations bookable via a secure mobile application (app.). The service operates between 8:00am and 10:00pm seven days a week. People can book a 10-minute telephone or online video consultation with a GP, which may be extended if necessary. Prescribed medicines can be delivered by a participating pharmacy or prescriptions can be sent to a pharmacy nominated by patients so they may collect medicines personally.

The service is available to patients resident in England and Wales. It is not intended for use in emergencies or to provide care in relation to the ongoing management of patients’ long-term health conditions.

The provider has a registered manager, who is a person registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

At this inspection we found:

• The service had good systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. People were protected from avoidable harm and abuse.
• People have good outcomes because they receive effective care and treatment, which was delivered according to evidence-based guidelines.
• People are supported, treated with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect and involved as partners in their care.
• People’s needs are met through the way the service is organised and delivered.
• The leadership, governance and culture promote the delivery of high-quality person-centred care.

Although we identified no breaches of regulations, the areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Proceed with updating the service records system to include past prescriptions on the main summary page for easy reference.
• Proceed with implementing a planned programme of clinical auditing to drive improvement.
• Proceed with reviewing and revising governance policy documents to provide consistency in terminology.

Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA

Chief Inspector of Health Care