UK telemedicine in 2026: Push Doctor, Babylon, and Numan compared after a month of real consultations

The UK NHS GP appointment system is, in 2026, in a stranger state than it has ever been. Average wait for a non-urgent GP appointment in England now exceeds 17 working days, according to the latest NHS England data. The NHS app has improved, but it remains primarily a triage tool, "is this urgent enough to see someone", rather than a substitute for actually seeing someone.

Into this gap, a tier of private telemedicine services has grown rapidly: Push Doctor, the now-NHS-integrated Babylon, and condition-specific platforms like Numan (men's health, weight loss, hair loss) and Asda Online Doctor. They operate in a regulatory grey zone, most are GMC-registered services using UK GPs, but the level of clinical scrutiny, follow-up, and continuity of care varies hugely.

We tested three across a month of real consultations. Here is what we found, and the one finding that genuinely changed how our testers think about their NHS GP.

The headline

If you have a non-urgent issue, can wait 17 days, and have a good NHS GP, see your NHS GP. The continuity of care, the clinical record integration, and the fact that you don't pay still beats every private telemedicine service we tested for ongoing health issues.

But.

If your issue is specific, time-sensitive, and matches what these services are good at, repeat prescriptions you can't otherwise easily get, contraception consultations, sexual health issues you'd rather not raise face-to-face, or a quick second opinion on a symptom that doesn't need an exam, paid telemedicine is genuinely useful in 2026 and the NHS isn't going to fill that gap quickly.

The question is which of the three to use, and the answer is not obvious.

What we tested

For each tester, across one month:

• One general consultation (a real but non-urgent issue)
• One repeat prescription request (existing prescription, different conditions)
• One follow-up question after the consultation (testing customer service / continuity)

Each consultation was independent, we did not tell the GP we were testing. The fees were paid normally; the prescriptions, where issued, were collected normally from local pharmacies.

We rated each service on:

• Time to first appointment
• GP qualifications (GMC verified)
• Quality and length of consultation
• Prescription accuracy
• Follow-up handling
• Whether anything we discussed made it into our NHS record (none of these services automatically update GP records, important to know)
• Cost

Push Doctor, the closest thing to "see a GP, but quickly"

Push Doctor is, in our test, the closest experience to a real NHS GP appointment, just on a screen. UK-based GMC-registered GPs, average appointment time of 14 minutes (vs ~10 at most NHS practices), prescriptions arriving electronically at a chosen pharmacy within hours.

What's good:

• Speed. Time to first appointment in our test averaged 41 minutes after booking. NHS practices currently average 12-17 working days for non-urgent.
• GP quality. Both our testers were seen by GPs with verifiable GMC registration and substantial NHS experience. Consultations felt thorough, not rushed.
• Prescription accuracy. Both prescriptions issued were correct and arrived at the chosen pharmacy without issue.
• NHS record integration is improving. Push Doctor will, on request, send a summary letter to your registered NHS GP, not automatic, but available.

What's not good:

• Cost. £39 per consultation in 2026 is a steep ask if you'd see your NHS GP for free. A consultation + prescription + repeat is rarely under £45 in total.
• Continuity. You won't see the same GP twice unless you specifically request and pay extra for it. For ongoing issues this matters.
• No physical examination. Some things require seeing or touching the patient. Push Doctor's GPs are good at flagging these and redirecting to in-person care, but if your issue is in the "needs an exam" category, telemedicine is a triage tool, not a treatment one.

Best for: working professionals who want a real GP consultation, fast, and are happy paying for the time saved.
Cost: £39 per consultation; subscription plans available.

Babylon, the NHS-integrated option that's quietly worth it

Babylon's commercial situation has shifted significantly since 2023, when its commercial app pivoted heavily into NHS contracts. In 2026 the consumer-facing private side has retreated, but the NHS-integrated version (where local NHS practices contract Babylon for digital consultations) is increasingly common, and free where available.

If your NHS GP practice uses Babylon (or eConsult, or any of the digital triage tools NHS England has procured), you may already be able to access fast digital consultations through the NHS app, no private fee at all. Many UK adults don't realise this. Check.

For genuinely private consultations on Babylon's consumer app:

• Fewer GMC-registered GPs available than Push Doctor
• Slightly longer waits (43 minutes average in our test)
• Pricing similar (£35-45 per consultation)
• Strong on women's health and family planning specifically

Best for: anyone whose NHS GP is on the Babylon platform, try the NHS route first. For private use specifically, Push Doctor is currently a better experience.

Numan, the condition-specific platform that earns its place

Numan is the strangest service of the three. It is not a general telemedicine platform; it is a men's health-specific service focused on weight loss (GLP-1 medications), hair loss, erectile dysfunction, and testosterone-related concerns. Almost everything else, Numan won't help with.

But within its specialism, Numan is genuinely impressive:

• The intake assessment is more rigorous than the equivalent on a general telemedicine platform, bloodwork, medical history, multiple-step verification before any prescription.
• GLP-1 prescribing is appropriately gatekept. Numan won't prescribe Wegovy or Mounjaro to anyone who doesn't medically qualify, even if they're paying.
• Ongoing care is built in. Patients get regular check-ins, not one-off consultations, closer to a private clinic experience than a "take this prescription and go" service.
• Women's equivalent, Voy, Asda Online Doctor's women's health, and Numan's increasing women's offering provide a similar model on the women's side.

What's not good:

• Specialist by design. Don't try Numan for general issues, it's not what they do.
• Subscription model. Most Numan care plans are £30-90/month ongoing rather than per-consultation, which can make sense for chronic management but adds up quickly.

Best for: men with the specific health concerns Numan specialises in, who want structured ongoing care rather than a one-off consultation.

Three findings that surprised us

1. The NHS app got dramatically better in 2025-26. If you haven't checked it in a year or two, do, repeat prescriptions, online consultations, sick note requests, and test results are all now functional. For most repeat-prescription needs, you don't need a private service.
2. Most "AI symptom checkers" embedded in private apps are not impressive. Babylon's was reasonable; the rest were essentially WebMD-style red-flagging that drove patients to consultations. Treat them as marketing tools, not clinical ones.
3. Continuity of care matters more than speed. Our chronic-condition tester rated her NHS GP much higher than any private alternative because the NHS GP knew her history. Don't trade continuity for speed unless the issue is genuinely one-off.

What we'd recommend

This article is general health information, not medical advice. If your symptoms are persistent, severe, or worrying, please contact your GP or NHS 111. Telemedicine services are a useful tool but are not a substitute for in-person clinical examination where one is needed.

Affiliate disclosure: Morningfold has affiliate partnerships with two of the services above. The verdicts were reached during testing, see our methodology for how this works.

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