Imposing a requirement for registrants to report concerns about their own or a colleague's fitness to practise, as part of the General Optical Council changes to the Codes of Conduct could see an increase in the number of malicious reports.
That was the conclusion of the vast majority of delegates attending the Council's open day in London held last Thursday to discuss some of the changes outlined in the consultation paper on proposed amendments to the Code which ends on April 24 2009.
The event attracted 36 delegates including optometrists, dispensing opticians, representatives from the optical bodies and primary care trusts.
Delegates were split up into groups and asked to discuss scenarios outlining proposals under consideration including: 'What kinds of behaviour, while practising or not, should put a person's registration at risk?'
They were also invited to comment on the code's equality and diversity objectives.
One delegate speaking on behalf of his group commented: 'The GOC could be inundated with calls from those who either don't realise that the issue may be best approached initially at a local level or the Council will receive calls from those who have malicious intent for reporting a colleague.'
It was suggested the GOC should consider a filter system for malicious calls along the same lines as that implemented by the General Dental Council.
There were also mixed views on promoting the existence of the Codes to the general public.
Feedback from the event will be reviewed alongside the written consultation responses.
There were suggestions that producing a condensed flyer made available to public could raise the confidence in the profession in the eyes of the consumer.
After the meeting, the GOC's director of standards, Jon Levett said: ', and used when formulating the new Codes to ensure they are fair, effective and proportionate.'