Warning for multiple’s locum staff

Locum optometrists working for Vision Express have been warned their contracts will be terminated and could face General Optical Council sanctions if they are found to have falsified patient appointments. 

The company said it was aware of several incidents where locums booked false additional appointments in clinic diaries, either by copying an earlier appointment or by creating fake online patient bookings. It added that any allegations would be investigated for potential fraud and could be referred to the GOC due to non-compliance with Standards of Practice.  

‘The health and safety of our customers is of our utmost priority,’ a Vision Express spokesperson told Optician. ‘We recently issued a letter to our locum community to reinforce that at Vision Express falsifying customer appointments is not tolerated. This poses a risk to all customers who have a genuine health appointment need and we pride ourselves on making appointments as accessible as possible for our customers.'