News from Council - 24 and 25 September 2024

The General Optical Council (GOC) held its third Council meeting of the year on 24 and 25 September 2024.

Updates to Standards of Practice approved

Council approved updated Standards of Practice for Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians, Standards for Optical Students, and Standards for Optical Businesses, which will come into effect on 1 January 2025.

These were informed by a period of consultation and feedback has been used to improve the clarity, brevity, and legal alignment of the updated Standards. Language has been changed in certain areas to ensure the Standards are adaptable and remain relevant over the next years.

Most of the existing standards will remain as now, but key changes address:

Delivering better care for patients in vulnerable circumstances
Requiring registrants to identify themselves and their role and advise patients who will provide their care
Maintaining appropriate professional boundaries, including prohibiting conduct of a sexual nature with patients
Promoting better workplace cultures by explicitly referencing inclusive behaviour between colleagues and ensuring employers support staff who have experienced discrimination, bullying or harassment in the workplace
Keeping updated on developments in digital technologies and applying professional judgement when utilising the data they generate to inform decision making
Maintaining confidentiality when sharing patient images online
Demonstrating leadership in practice, for example by supporting the education and training of others

Some respondents to the consultation asked for further detail on certain new standards. The GOC will issue supplementary guidance on the care of patients and vulnerable circumstances and maintaining appropriate sexual boundaries to address these requests.

Business regulation consultation approved

Council approved a consultation on draft reforms to regulation of optical businesses. The current system is complex and creates an uneven system leaving only half of optical businesses regulated, a gap that could risk public protection.

The main proposals in the consultation include:

Extending regulation to all entities providing the specified restricted functions, unless exempted, including university eye clinics and charities;

Removing the current legislation requirement for some categories of body corporates to have a majority of registrant directors;

A model of assurance that includes requiring registrants to nominate a head of optical practice (HOP) with overall responsibility for the conduct of the business, in accordance with the GOC’s regulatory arrangements;

Removing the maximum fine available for breaches and introducing a power to visit a business, should it be required as part of the fitness to carry on business process; and

Making participation in the consumer redress scheme mandatory and seeking views on whether the scheme should operate on a mediation or adjudication model.

All proposals are informed by responses to the 2022 call for evidence and consultation on associated GOC policies. Feedback from the sector showed broad support for extending GOC oversight to all healthcare settings providing restricted functions, unless already regulated by other statutory bodies.

Council approved a 13-week consultation, due to launch shortly.

Research on public and registrant perceptions shows public satisfaction remains high, whilst many professionals continue to experience challenging conditions and behaviours

Council discussed the findings of the Registrant Workforce and Perceptions Survey 2024, which found that optical professionals continue to face challenging working conditions and negative workplace behaviours which affect their ability to provide sufficient care. The GOC are commissioning lived experience research to analyse the link between poor working environments and the delivery of safe care.

Council also discussed the results of the Public Perceptions research 2024. Public satisfaction continues to remain high overall, with 92% of respondents satisfied with the optometrist who carried out their sight test/eye examination and 88% satisfied with their overall visit. However, the research found that the most vulnerable patients experience significantly worse outcomes and had lower satisfaction.

Education Annual Monitoring Report analyses key themes, risks and trends in education providers’ qualifications

Council noted the AMR Sector Report for the academic year 2022-23, which forms part of the GOC’s Approval and Quality Assurance (A&QA) cycle for all education providers offering GOC-approved qualifications.

The report showed strong and encouraging growth in admissions and a significant rise in professionals pursuing independent prescribing (IP) qualifications. It highlighted the barriers some optometrists experience in progressing onto IP programmes, including time, the cost of and/or lack of employer support, and a lack of eligible supervisors. The supply of clinical placements remains a risk for optical students more broadly.

Council welcomed the response of many education providers to the GOC’s updated Education and Training Requirements and the introduction of the new Dispensing Optics degree apprenticeship.

The full report will be published later this year.

Annual Reports approved

Council approved the Annual Report and financial statements 2023-24 and the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion annual report 2023-24. The Audit, Risk, and Finance Committee (ARC) annual report 2023-24 was also noted. All three reports will be published in due course.

Chair Dr Anne Wright thanked outgoing ARC Chair Sinead Burns for her eight years of dedicated work on Council. Sinead’s term finishes at the end of September. She will be succeeded by Kathryn Foreman as new lay Council member from 1 October.

Read the full September 2024 Council papers.