Practitioners seek return

Two practitioners will bid to be restored to the Opticians Register next week.

Optometrist Robert Matthew Thompson, who forged NHS forms to improve his domiciliary returns, was struck off last year.

In January 2005 a disciplinary panel of the GOC heard that he had been convicted at Nottingham Crown Court in 2004 of 12 counts of false accounting. Thompson's forgeries allowed him to overclaim by £7,000 in the dozen specimen counts that had been made.

He was sentenced to undertake a community punishment order of 100 hours in relation to each count, to run concurrently, and ordered to pay a contribution of £2,225 towards prosecution costs, £250 to the Department for Work & Pensions, and £2,000 to the investigating local authorities.

His restoration hearing will take place on March 21 at the General Chiropractic Council in London.

The hearing will be followed a day later by that of David John Semmens, who will apply for restoration to the register of dispensing opticians. Semmens was struck off in January 2005 for carrying out an eye examination when unqualified. At his disciplinary hearing the former Brixham
Yacht Club commodore said he was 'very repentant'.

He was convicted at South Devon Magistrates Court of testing sight while not being a registered medical practitioner or registered ophthalmic optician and was fined £300 and ordered to pay £235 toward prosecution costs.

His restoration hearing will take place on March 22 at the General Chiropractic Council.