Verum writes: Setting and meeting standards

An essential part of any professional activity is that individuals perform against set standards, which reflect good practice and in turn ensure members of the public are receiving appropriate care. The member of the public must then be assured that where standards are not met there is a regulatory body that will investigate and take appropriate action against individual practitioners. For optometrists and dispensing opticians, the Opticians Act and the Code of Conduct set out a broad view of standards required, with the College of Optometrists and the Association of British Dispensing Opticians adding the detail, in the form of guidance to the profession. The GOC then acts as the regulator.