Agenda for white paper requirements discussed

At a General Optical Council meeting to discuss the agenda for the white paper requirements, the GOC detailed its plans for joining the Department of Health's new independent adjudication body, the Office of Health Professionals Adjudicator (OHPA), as soon as possible yet it revealed that an exact timetable for joining is not clear. The move will transfer the management of Fitness to Practice (FTP) hearings from the GOC to the new body.

Gavin Larner, director of professional regulation for the DoH explained that the OHPA's operation in shadow form is scheduled for 2009/10 for doctors becoming fully functioning in 2011. Responding to alleged disappointment that it will not be put into action simultaneously for opticians, he commented: 'They want to start it simple with doctors and when they've got that right implement it for opticians.'