Comment: Unqualified failure

I have never considered myself to be a hang 'em and flog 'em type but the GOC's fitness to practise committee's knack of allowing itself to get tied up in knots does make me wish it had an iron first in its velvet glove.

News this week that a case, already over two years old, ended with a notice to reconvene on June 30 to hear legal argument over who has to prove what, is not good for the profession or its image.

It's hardly an advertisement for optometry to keep its own house in order when a case degenerates into bickering over who is supposed to provide proof when charges of misconduct are levelled.