For the first time in nearly a decade, the General Optical Council (GOC) has met all 18 of the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care’s (PSA) Standards of Good Regulation. The findings represent a gradual improvement in the GOC’s ratings, with 16 out of 18 standards met in 2019/2020 and 17 out of 18 in 2020/2021.
Several areas of the GOC’s work in which it had performed well were highlighted by the PSA, including in fitness to practise and equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI).
Improvements made to the time taken to move cases through the fitness to practise process meant the GOC now compared favourably to other healthcare regulators, reported the GOC. However, the PSA noted that the time taken for complaints to reach a decision by a case examiner or investigating committee was still longer than most of the other regulators.
The GOC also told the PSA that it had noted a significant increase in the number of cases involving health allegations, which it said could be difficult to progress because of unwell and disengaged registrants and the limitations imposed by the GOC’s legislation. The GOC is examining ways to tackle the issue until the opportunity for more structural change which may be offered by legislative reform.
Nonetheless, the changes implemented by the GOC meant it avoided failing to meet PSA’s fitness to practise timeliness standards for the eighth consecutive year. ‘The GOC continues to identify opportunities to improve and has an ongoing programme of work that should positively affect the timeliness of its fitness to practise processes,’ said the PSA in its report.
The GOC said its ‘strong’ performance on equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) was also highlighted by the PSA. It described the registrant EDI data collected by the GOC as part of its annual public perceptions survey as ‘comprehensive’ and that it would be used by the GOC as a robust evidence base for future decisions. Steps to improve EDI performance included the recruitment of two individuals to the position of Council associate to broaden the range of views at Council meetings, and the creation of an EDI learning programme that included training on bias to hearings panel members.
GOC chief executive and registrar, Leonie Milliner, said: ‘The report recognises high standards across all areas of our work, including our regulatory operations, registration processes, in upholding high standards in education, policy and professional standards, in our communications functions, and, of course, in the vital area of corporate governance. I would like to thank all our staff and members for their important contributions.’
Room for improvement
Though the GOC met all 18 of the PSA’s standards, there was some critical feedback about how it had handled stakeholder communication and the implementation of two major projects; the new education and training requirements (ETR) and the new continuing professional development (CPD) system.
One stakeholder told the PSA: ‘Consultation outcomes appear to be largely ignored where they don’t fit the GOC’s planned direction of travel’ and that ‘basing decisions on the proportion of submissions without any weighting for the organisational relevance and number of people they represent is statistically flawed.’
In response, the PSA said: ‘The consultation reports published by the GOC do split out the responses received from individuals and organisations, and we have not seen evidence of the GOC making decisions purely on the number of responses.’
On the ETR, another stakeholder told the PSA: ‘The implementation process has been well-handled by the GOC with full engagement of the sector and higher education institutions.
‘We remain concerned about the delays in providing sector communications in relation to the GOC’s new Education and Training Requirements. The introduction of the new system of CPD at the start of 2022 was not well-planned or communicated.’
The GOC said it was already implementing improvements in this area, for example, in relation to its recent call for evidence on the Opticians Act and associated policies.
Chair of Council, Dr Anne Wright, said: ‘I welcome the outcome of the PSA’s review. It recognises the significant progress we have made in improving the timeliness of fitness to practise cases.
‘This progress could not have been achieved without the substantial commitment and energy of GOC staff and members, and I am glad that we can celebrate this success collectively.
‘As a Council, the PSA’s performance review is useful assurance that we are meeting our statutory responsibilities as a regulator and protecting the public by upholding high standards in the optical professions.’