A GP who wrote online scripts for antibiotics without conducting physical exams has escaped suspension after a tribunal found he had returned to regular practice without putting patients at risk.

The online prescribing business, Doctus, was launched in 2013, with the doctor writing scripts for sildenafil and finasteride, along with a range of antibiotics and hypertension medicines.

Patients were asked to fill out a basic online questionnaire about their complaint and whether they had allergies.

The answers would then be reviewed by the GP, or a medical colleague at the company, who would write a script for the requested drug and send it to be filled at an affiliated pharmacy and posted to the patient.