GOC agrees with focus on public safety

The General Optical Council this week welcomed the emphasis on public protection running through government proposals to improve the regulation of healthcare professionals.

Responding to the consultation on Healthcare Professional Regulation, the GOC was positive about efforts to introduce greater consistency and collaboration between regulators and the other players in the UK health system.

The Council warned that differences between systems for regulating medical and non-medical professionals would undermine these efforts. However, it argued for proportionality in regulation, to recognise differences in size, practice settings and risk among the different professions.

There was also support for proposals to change the 'culture' of regulation, through emphasis on good standards of practice, including provision for retraining and rehabilitation where problems arose.