Regulatory reform was on the agenda recently at a Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers panel discussion, and it was interesting to hear a range of views from optical professions.
Regulation exists to ensure patient safety and standards of education, performance and conduct. However, at the GOC we are clear it should not impede innovation or development of new models of care.
We recognise there are significant challenges facing optical professions and the wider healthcare system, in demographic change and technological developments, and this will require new approaches to delivering services and for professionals to take on new roles. We want to be an enabler of change while maintaining patient safety.
We realise that the Opticians Act is out of date and needs reform which is why we are engaging with the Department of Health’s current review of professional regulation. If there are areas of legislation which stakeholders believe are unnecessary barriers to change we want to hear, so we can convey this to government.
We also want to know about aspects of our own rules and regulations which may be unnecessary or burdensome on registrants or businesses. If there are examples where it would benefit the public for us to change something we do, we will consider it – you can email us at policy@optical.org
However, legislation, including the Opticians Act itself, can only be changed by Parliament at the instigation of government. So while we would like to remove the requirement for student opticians to register with us, for example, we need the government to introduce this.
That said, changing the law is particularly difficult in the current political climate.