Our approach

The General Optical Council (GOC) sets standards for individual optometrists, dispensing opticians, and the optical businesses that register with the GOC. These all have the ultimate aim of protecting patients and the public. As part of our work to protect members, we provide guidance and advice to help you understand and meet these standards such as our Member guide to the GOC's Standards of Practice and the GOC's Business Standards.

These pages offer practical advice to business owners and individual practitioners to help them meet the GOC standards that are designed to protect patients.

We believe that although each individual professional is responsible for the quality of their own practice, their work circumstances can make a very big difference to their ability to do a good job. It is the responsibility of all employers, whether they are registered with the GOC or not, to create a work environment that enables professionals to do their jobs as well and as safely as possible for the benefit of all patients.

Providing sight tests and eye examinations is central to community optometric practice and a key public health service both in providing vision correction for all, and identifying and diagnosing sight-threatening conditions as well as other physiological conditions that may be identified through an eye health check.

There are various components to any examination: history and symptoms, routine procedures, refraction, internal and external examinations, targeted investigations and record keeping.

Most tests are routine and most patients do not have significant abnormalities. Overall optometric practice has a very high safety record. Nevertheless, like all clinical practice and human interaction, sight tests and eye examinations are not risk free, as examples:

• Errors may be made in prescribing
• Errors may be made in dispensing
• One or more procedures may be missed
• Pathologies may not be detected

Practice systems, and any personal systems practitioners use, need to be designed to minimise risk and support practitioners in reducing risk.

We understand that our employer members work within financial constraints and that our employee members are realistic about this. But it is imperative that our employee members are not subject to unreasonable pressure. The advice on these web pages is designed pragmatically, to help our employer members meet their regulatory requirements and support their staff to do the same, while succeeding financially.

For employers, the advice includes:

• How to structure the practice day so that all patients receive the time they need with an optometrist, and optometrists have the time they require to write notes and referrals, as well as get appropriate rest breaks
• How to be sure that repeat tests and internal referrals take place and that worrying clinical signs are followed up, including when patients fail to attend a follow-up appointment
• How to avoid reward structures for staff that run the risk of them putting patients’ interests second to their own financial interests

For employees, locums and pre-registration optometrists and their supervisors, we explain your responsibilities, and what you have a right to expect from the practice(s) where you work.