GOC review highlights pressures on eye care professionals despite high patient satisfaction
The General Optical Council (GOC) has published the findings of its first thematic review into commercial practices and patient safety, identifying widespread concerns among registrants about their ability to deliver safe patient care. This is despite high levels of patient satisfaction and public confidence in eye care services.
The findings highlight concerns about stress and burnout among registrants in the face of workplace pressures, including high patient volumes and target-driven environments. Students and early career professionals appear particularly affected by these pressures.
The review also identified barriers that may discourage some people from accessing eye care services, with potential implications for longer-term eye health outcomes. These include a lack of online price transparency and information about eligibility for NHS financial support, concerns about pressure selling deterring people from routine sight tests, and a minority of businesses not providing sight tests for young children.
While there is no direct evidence that commercial practices are causing harm to patients, the review notes that limited data on patient outcomes makes the quality of eye care hard to assess.
The report concludes that addressing the issues identified will require action across the sector. While regulation has an important role to play, it highlights the need for strong leadership, positive workplace cultures and environments that support registrants to raise concerns. Planned GOC work includes reviewing the Standards for Optical Businesses and supplementary guidance, as well as working with education providers to ensure newly qualified professionals are equipped to manage commercial pressures whilst maintaining safe patient care.
Steve Brooker, the GOC's Director of Regulatory Strategy, said:
"Patients continue to report high levels of satisfaction with eye care services, yet many registrants have concerns about the pressures they face in practice and the impact these can have on their ability to deliver safe patient care.
The findings on registrant wellbeing, including stress and burnout, are particularly concerning. We are clear that when workforce wellbeing is at risk, this can become a patient safety concern and so it is a regulatory issue.
While setting the right standards and enforcing these well are important, culture and leadership across the sector are just as critical. This includes strong clinical autonomy, targets and incentives that reward great care and psychologically safe environments that support registrants to speak up, including to the GOC.
This review should act as a catalyst for action across the sector. We engaged with a range of stakeholders across the sector to produce this report and we are very grateful to everyone who helped us for their contributions. By continuing to work together, we can help ensure that patient safety, workforce wellbeing and commercial success are mutually reinforcing rather than competing priorities."
The review considered five key areas: sales targets and incentives, booking practices, sight testing times, transparency of pricing and NHS financial support, and sight tests for young children aged 0-5 years.
