The General Optical Council (GOC) has begun a consultation on its proposals to update requirements for specialist entry to the register as a contact lens optician (CLO).
Proposed changes to these requirements for entry to the register would amend the qualifications potential CLOs
were required to complete, as Council approval of these qualifications is based on their compliance with the document under consultation.
This new consultation followed the GOC’s Education Strategic Review (ESR) that began in 2018 and ended last year. The previous ESR concerned GOC new education and training requirements for dispensing opticians and optometrists, and was confirmed following lengthy consultation with professional bodies and the sector.
Seeking your views
In its announcement, the GOC explained it was seeking the profession’s views on three proposed documents: Outcomes for Approved Qualifications, which described the expected knowledge, skills and behaviours a DO must have to be awarded an approved qualification for entry to the GOC’s register as a CLO; Standards for Approved Qualifications, which detailed the expected context for the delivery and assessment of the outcomes; and Quality Assurance and Enhancement Method, which described how the GOC would gather evidence to decide whether a qualification met its standards.
These three documents would replace the GOC’s Visit Handbook Guidelines for the approval of training institutions and providers of schemes for registration for UK CLOs, as well as the CL Speciality Core Competencies published in 2011. The GOC said its proposed changes would mitigate the risk of its current documents becoming out of date.
GOC director of education, Leonie Milliner, thanked all those who contributed to shaping the consultations proposals, and added: ‘We value all of the feedback we receive, to ensure our requirements are fit for purpose and reflect the changing landscape of the optical sector, and we will continue to work closely with our stakeholders to listen to concerns and understand the impact of our proposals.’
Key takeaways
The most significant proposed changes contained within the consultation would primarily affect the method of delivering and certifying education, rather than its content. Candidates for entry to the register as a CLO under the new proposals would receive a GOC approved qualification as either an academic award or a regulated qualification at a minimum Regulated Qualification Framework, or equivalent, level 6.
Proposals also outlined that there would be no specified parameters for recommended time or credit volume, or a specified location or duration of clinical experience. However, there would be a requirement that an approved qualification must integrate approximately 225 hours of learning and experience in practice.
Providers of approved qualifications would be required, via the design, delivery and assessment of qualifications, to involve and be informed by feedback from a range of stakeholders, including patients, employers, trainees, supervisors, members of the optical team and other healthcare professionals.
Citing the pace of change, the GOC specified that it would begin working with its approved qualification providers from April 2022 to determine what timescale they would be able to adapt existing practices or develop new qualifications to satisfy changing requirements. It added: ‘We anticipate most providers will work towards admitting trainees to approved qualifications that meet the outcomes and standards from July 2022.
‘Separate arrangements will be made with the Association of British Dispensing Opticians (ABDO) to ensure that, for trainees who graduate from qualifications approved before 2022, their route to specialist entry to the GOC register is maintained.’
Sector reaction
ABDO have been involved in expert advisory groups for the ESR and contact lenses in an advisory capacity. Debbie McGill, ABDO head of policy and public affairs, commented: ‘Now that the proposals have been collated and finalised by the GOC we will respond to the contact lens consultation to formally provide further comment on the risks, standards and impact in line with service delivery, quality assurance and patient need. We encourage all CLOs to respond to the consultation directly.’
The British Contact Lens Authority (BCLA) also directly contributed to the development of the GOC proposals. Its chief executive, Luke Stevens-Burt, told Optician: ‘This has been a welcome opportunity and we are pleased to be part of the modernisation process for these educational standards. I am also pleased that, as part of the literary review, the expert advisory group referred to BCLA CLEAR [Contact Lens Evidence-based Academic Reports], particularly the paper on evidence-based practiced, which was published earlier this year.’