In focus: GOC investigates worries over changing risks in the industry

Research conducted by the General Optical Council (GOC) into the risk that optical professionals pose to patients has highlighted the perception that the level of this risk is increasing. Survey respondents, a 2,610 strong mix of GOC registrants and other stakeholders, were questioned on whether they agreed the level of risk to patients and the public associated with optometrists and dispensing opticians was changing. This followed questions earlier in the same survey around perceptions of risks in optics currently, which were covered in last week’s Optician (In Focus 25.10.19).

Over half of the survey respondents (52%) agreed that the level of risk associated with optometrists was rising, although a sizeable proportion (30%) stated they neither agreed nor disagreed. In contrast, just over a third (34%) of those surveyed believed the same was true for DOs, with 40% neither agreeing nor disagreeing and nearly a fifth (19%) disagreeing. This discrepancy, however, was contextualised by subgroup analysis; DOs were more likely to report that risks were increasing in the dispensing role (49%) than optometrists (25%). More recently qualified respondents were also more likely to agree that the risks for DOs were increasing, with 43% of those having been registered for fewer than two years agreeing, compared to just over a fifth (21%) of those registered for 21 years and over.