Online retention, enhanced fitness to practise processes and raised awareness among the public of the professional registration of optometrists and dispensing opticians were among the highlights of the General Optical Council in the past year.
In her introduction to the GOC annual report 2009/10 former chief executive Dian Taylor said these developments showed the Council's commitment to delivering modernised and meaningful services in a cost-efficient manner. She described the year as an exciting and eventful one which culminated in a positive performance review from the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence.
She went on to say involvement of all the Council's stakeholders had enabled it to draw up its strategic plan to 2015.
Anna Bradley, interim chair, said the Council had much to be proud of. It had been a busy year which had seen the introduction of new governance structures, a newly constituted council and re-invigorated committees.
Also referring to the five-year strategic plan, Bradley said the right structures and the necessary resources had to be in place for it to be delivered in a cost effective way. But the GOC's duty above all else was to ensure patient safety.
The GOC's five-year plan focuses on three areas:
- Developing the regulatory framework to support the delivery of services to meet the needs of society
- Modernising its core functions and develop systems for improvements and efficiencies
- Promoting a wider understanding of the GOC and to engage the public, patients, registrants and educators in its work.
'Looking to 2010-11, it is clear that the world in which we operate is changing fast - in public and health policy, in healthcare regulation, and within optics itself. We must take account of and respond to all of these factors,' Bradley wrote.
Over the year the number of GOC registrants rose by 7.4 per cent to 12,414, of these 54 per cent are female. The GOC's finances were published in Optician 20.08.10.