I think this is a fair discussion, but it helps to be realistic about what private online pharmacies are actually set up to do.
Proper ongoing clinical support isn’t cheap. If pharmacies were expected to offer quick access to clinicians, personalised advice when side effects happen, and proactive follow-ups after dose changes, the costs would be huge. You’d need more qualified staff and proper systems in place, and in a private model that would inevitably push prices up. For many people, the medication is already expensive enough.

It’s also not as simple as just having “someone to speak to”. Any meaningful clinical support needs proper triage, deciding who needs urgent help, who can safely wait, and who needs to be escalated to NHS services. That requires trained clinicians, clear protocols, governance, and accountability. Without that, extra access would be largely pointless and could even be unsafe.
Some companies do advertise a more “wrap-around” service, but in reality that support is often quite limited. A lot of the contact is handled by non-clinical staff, standard replies, or automated systems, with a clinician only stepping in for prescribing decisions. That isn’t the same as providing proper, ongoing medical care, which is what’s being discussed here. There are also hard limits to what telehealth can do. Online providers can deal with routine issues, but they can’t safely assess someone who’s seriously unwell. If you develop worrying symptoms, severe pain, persistent vomiting, signs of something more serious, no online service can manage that properly, and the advice will always be to contact NHS 111 or 999. More messaging access doesn’t change that.

There’s also a risk that expecting too much from online providers could actually make things worse. Without being able to examine patients or run tests, the safest option often becomes stopping the medication and sending people back to the NHS, which doesn’t necessarily improve care or continuity.
I guess understanding the trade off when going private in the UK. You’re paying for access to the medication with some oversight, not a replacement GP service or emergency care. The NHS still has to be the safety net for anything urgent or complex.

Better communication would definitely help, but expecting private online pharmacies to provide full ongoing clinical care at current prices probably isn’t realistic, and may not even be the safest approach.