In Focus: Time for change at the GOC

An annual review of the General Optical Council’s performance found concerns about the length of time it took to handle fitness to practise cases.

The Professional Standards Agency’s (PSA) 2020-21 review meant the GOC failed to meet standard 15 in each of the past six years.

Despite falling short of meeting the required standard, the PSA acknowledged the GOC had made significant improvements to its processes.

This meant the GOC met 17 out of 18 standards for good regulation in the period from October 2020 to September 2021, which was an improvement on the previous report when the GOC met 16 of the standards.