Members of the General Optical Council met in Scotland yesterday (Thursday) for the first time in the Council's 49-year history to discuss a wide range of proposals.
The meeting was only the second occasion on which the Council's 28 members have convened outside London.
Topics on the agenda for consideration included a possible time frame for applying the civil standard of proof in all GOC fitness to practise (disciplinary) hearings which became a statutory requirement with the publication of the Health and Social Care Bill last Friday (see page 5).
Council members also discussed increasing student registration numbers, the new European law enabling qualified professionals to work in other EU countries with greater ease and recent legislation allowing optometrists to train to be independent prescribers.
Members were also asked to approve registration fees for 2008/09 and to consider a recommendation from the Finance and Procedure Committee that the CET levy be reduced by £7. This would reduce the overall registration fee to £162.
Council chairman Rosie Varley said: 'This is an historic meeting of the GOC, allowing the Scottish public and our Scottish registrants the opportunity to find out more about the work of the GOC.
'Eye care services in Scotland are currently among the best in the UK, and we are committed to learning from the Scottish experience and to building strong, lasting partnerships with ministers and healthcare bodies across the border. Such relationships help us to ensure effective regulation across the whole of the UK.'
Members also attended a pre-Council seminar, where Frank Munro, chairman of Optometry Scotland, delivered a presentation about the future of optometry and dispensing optics in Scotland.
? See next week's issue for a full report of the meeting.
