New standards of practice for optometrists and dispensing opticians have been published by the General Optical Council (GOC), which will come into effect from April next year.
A separate set of standards has also been published for optical students, and the GOC said it would update its code of conduct for business registrants ‘to make clear that businesses should support their employees in meeting their obligations under the new standards’.
Among the changes, now published online, is the requirement to promptly raise concerns about patients, colleagues, employers or other organisations if patient or public safety might be at risk. Optical professionals were also told to ensure the environment and equipment they used was hygienic and correctly maintained.
Other sections of the document focused on communication, referrals and patient records.
The 19 standards will replace the existing GOC Code of Conduct for registrants, which will remain in place until March 31 2016.
Following the changes, GOC registrants will be required to undertake CET in a new standards of practice competency, replacing the professional conduct competency in the CET cycle for 2016-18.
In a letter to practitioners last week, GOC chief executive and registrar Samantha Peters said she strongly encouraged optometrists and dispensing opticians to take time to familiarise themselves with the new standards ahead of their implementation.
‘The new standards will support you by making much clearer our expectations as the statutory regulator with responsibility for setting professional standards in the optical sector,’ she said.
She emphasised they were not a rule book and left room for individuals to exercise their professional judgement.
Practitioners will be sent a printed copy of the standards with annual retention packs in December, and they must confirm they have read and will abide by the standards.
View the standards document here