GOC appoints two new Council Associates
The General Optical Council (GOC) has appointed two new Council Associates, Fahima Adam and Indy Ghuman, who will replace Rupa Patel and Desislava Pirkova.
As Council Associates, Fahima and Indy will gain boardroom experience through taking part in GOC Council meetings and associated activity, and also attending the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee meetings. Whilst they are not voting members, they are encouraged to contribute to discussions.
Fahima is a student contact lens optician and dispensing optician based in Leicester. She works as a Dispensing Consultant for the East region at Specsavers. She is a Cert 4 Facilitator, where she teaches the next generation of dispensing opticians. Fahima is also an Outreach Coordinator for Vision Care and a Talk and Support Facilitator for RNIB. In 2025, she was the Winner of the Doug Perkins Dispensing Optician Award for Clinical Excellence.
Fahima holds a degree in English Language and Literature attained from the University of Leicester in 2021, during which, she worked part-time in optics. This experience ignited a passion to delve further, and she enrolled onto the Dispensing Optician Diploma and qualified in 2024. She is currently studying for her Contact Lens Diploma and Diploma in Paediatric Eyecare.
Fahima said:
“I am pleased to be appointed as a GOC Council Associate. I look forward to attending Council meetings and learning all about the work and effort that goes into protecting our communities and practitioners and ensuring the highest standards of eyecare”.
Indy is a specialist optometrist at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, where he works across a range of services including consultant glaucoma, medical retina, external disease, urgent care, and specialist contact lenses.
He graduated from Aston University with a first-class degree in Optometry and has since developed extended clinical experience within multidisciplinary hospital settings. He has completed further qualifications in glaucoma and medical retina and is currently undertaking an MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice in Ophthalmology at University College London (UCL).
He has a particular interest in advanced clinical practice and the evolving role of optometrists. Alongside his clinical work, Indy has been actively involved in professional and regulatory engagement, including serving two terms as a national councillor for the Association of Optometrists and contributing to education reform initiatives linked to the GOC Education Strategic Review.
Indy said:
“I am pleased to be appointed as a Council Associate and to support the GOC’s work in protecting the public. I look forward to developing my understanding of regulation at a strategic level and contributing a clinical perspective to Council discussions.”
Chair of Council, Dr Anne Wright CBE, said:
“I am pleased to welcome Fahima and Indy as Council Associates and thank Rupa Patel and Desislava Pirkova for their contributions as part of the scheme.
The Council Associate scheme enhances the work that Council does to protect patients and the public, by gaining broader perspectives to represent the diverse needs of our registrants, staff and other stakeholder groups.
Fahima and Indy’s contributions and range of experience will bring interesting and valuable insights to the Council discussions. I also hope the scheme will be a beneficial development opportunity for them both”
Fahima and Indy began their terms on 1 April 2026.
