OCCS appoints Paul Chapman-Hatchett as clinical adviser

Domiciliary optometrist, Paul Chapman-Hatchett, has been named as the new clinical adviser for the Optical Consumer Complaints Service (OCCS).

His appointment comes as the organisation’s current clinical adviser, Richard Edwards, who has been in post for 11 years, plans to retire from the General Optical Council (GOC) register in March.

Optometrist Edwards, who has held roles including head of professional services at Boots Opticians, during his career, was appointed clinical adviser to the OCCS in 2014, shortly after Nockolds took over the delivery of the service. During his tenure, Edwards has provided the organisation with extensive industry expertise, and developed the service’s CPD programme.

Speaking about his retirement, Edwards commented that it has been “a privilege to work with the amazing OCCS team.”

He explained: “Now is the right time for me to retire. I am so grateful to so many people for the support and friendship I have encountered in my career, and I will miss those relationships more than anything.”

Head of OCCS and partner at Nockolds Resolution, Jenny Jones, said: “We are very sad to be saying farewell to Richard, whose wealth of optical industry experience and flair for learning and development has really helped us grow the OCCS into the service it is today. He has delivered training for us around the country, and many of our service users will have met him and learned from his experience.”

Edwards will continue with the OCCS and alongside Chapman-Hatchett during a transition period.

Incoming OCCS clinical adviser, Chapman-Hatchett, said of his appointment: “I am really excited to be joining OCCS and its exceptional team. I look forward to leveraging my expertise to contribute to OCCS’s continued success, helping them to continue to deliver exceptional service, supporting both consumers and practitioners to resolve complaints as smoothly as possible.”

Chapman-Hatchett began his career as a locum optometrist in the UK and Australia in the early 1990s, before founding his own domiciliary company.