Five steps to dealing with... a patient complaint, part three

The AOP’s Kevin Wallace shares his five steps for practices to follow if they receive a complaint

3 min read

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22 August 2026

Some patient complaints cannot be resolved at a local level and escalate to an investigatory body or become a civil claim for clinical negligence.

In part three of this series on dealing with patient complaints, optometrist and AOP clinical adviser, Kevin Wallace, outlines the steps to take if a practitioners become the subject of a General Optical Council (GOC) investigation or medical malpractice claim.

1 Contact the AOP

Most complaints do not lead to a fitness to practise hearing or a medical malpractice claim, but when matters escalate, the AOP’s legal and regulatory team is on hand to support and guide you through the process. The AOP’s legal team includes departments which specialise in professional discipline and clinical negligence matters, with input from the AOP’s in-house team of clinical advisers.

2 Make some notes now

It’s a good idea to make a note of anything you remember about the examination related to the investigation, as soon as you become aware of the complaint.

You must not amend the clinical records following a complaint, but it can be helpful to make a separate note of anything you remember about the examination, whilst events are still fresh in your mind. These notes can help the AOP’s legal team understand your clinical decision-making process by adding important context to the information contained in the clinical records.

Healthcare regulators generally take a positive view of practitioners who use adverse incidents as a learning opportunity and take practical steps to improve the way they practise

3 Reflect on the complaint

It’s important to reflect appropriately when concerns are raised and consider

whether there was anything you could have done differently with the benefit of hindsight. Healthcare regulators generally take a positive view of practitioners who use adverse incidents as a learning opportunity and take practical steps to improve the way they practise, as this helps demonstrate that a similar incident is unlikely to happen again.

4 Undertake CPD

Healthcare regulators understand that even the best practitioners make mistakes from time to time. GOC investigations typically take many months to progress, so if you think you have missed something, you should use this time to reflect and remediate any shortcomings.

Preparing a bundle of evidence of training and CPD you have undertaken is extremely useful, but this needs to be relevant to the matter being considered – undertaking consistent targeted learning is much better than completing a flurry of general CPD at the last minute. A remediation bundle could include CPD courses, self-directed learning, and attending hospital clinics, for example.

Completing appropriate remedial training helps practitioners demonstrate that they are not ‘currently impaired’ when the matter is considered by the regulator.

If you need emotional support, remember you can also call the Peer Support Line to chat in confidence with another optometrist

5 Don’t panic

Being subject to an investigation can be a very stressful process, but it does not help to bury your head in the sand. The AOP’s legal and regulatory team will support you throughout the process, and whilst you should not rush, you need to be aware of the timescales required for action to ensure you do everything required in good time.

It’s important to continue working throughout the investigation, unless you are suspended or unable to work for other reasons, because this can help you gather evidence to show that your fitness to practise is not currently impaired.

Finally, if you need emotional support, remember you can also call the AOP’s Peer Support Line to chat in confidence with another optometrist.