The company has introduced the ability for patients to access a range of services, including repeat prescriptions, on the app using their NHS login, Co-op Health said. 

This means they no longer have to pick up an access code from their GP surgery before using the app, as was required previously,

Patients can set up an NHS login using their email address, phone number and proof of identity, according to the NHS website.

Co-op Health claimed theirs is the “first online repeat prescription app to offer NHS login”, removing the need to memorise different usernames and passwords.

Patients can identify themselves on the app with a photo identity card and by recording a short video of themselves saying four numbers “similarly to how digital-only banks work”, Co-op Health said.

Tim Davies, managing director of Co-op Health, added: “Our new integration with NHS login means that even more people can now easily take charge of their repeat prescriptions in real time.”

The Co-operative Group re-entered the pharmacy market with the app in 2019, allowing patients to order prescriptions direct from their GP and collect from any pharmacy in England.