OO's failings spanned 25 years

Retired optometrist Alan Frape Peacock was struck off the GOC register this week after being accused of failing to keep proper records or carry out vital tests for detecting glaucoma over a 25-year period.

At a hearing held in London, GOC disciplinary panel chair Sir Alistair Graham said: 'The seriousness of the allegations which have been found proven, involving a large number of patients over a span of 25 years facing known increased risk of glaucoma, led us to believe erasure is the appropriate sanction.'

Nick Leale, for the Council, had earlier told the panel that Peacock ran and co-owned Peacock Ophthalmic Opticians in Hull until April 2006, but that concerns were raised to the Eastern Hull Primary Care Trust (EHPCT) about the practice in October 2005.