Teesside optometry courses gain full approval

Teesside University has received full approval from the General Optical Council (GOC) for its BSc (Hons) clinical optometry, and MOptom (Hons) optometry qualifications.

The GOC shared that approval was granted under the Accreditation and Quality Assurance Handbook: Routes to Registration in Optometry (2015), and the education and training requirements (2021).

Students who successfully complete the BSc qualification can undertake a pre-registration training period with a practice before applying to the GOC for registration. Graduates of the MOptom course will be able to join the register directly.

The BSc pathway is no longer accepting new students, as the university has moved to adapt to the GOC’s new education and training requirements.

Teesside University is the first in the North East to offer optometry, Emily Hedley, course lead for the MOptom at Teesside University, said.

She commented: “As a university dedicated to tackling health inequalities in the Tees Valley and beyond by working with professions to deliver skilled graduates in line with sector needs, we are delighted to receive full approval from the GOC for our BSc and MOptom degrees.”

Describing the approvals as a “significant milestone,” Hedley explained that this would provide “many people from the local and wider region the opportunity to study and join the profession.”

The development of the course “rooted in community and clinical excellence,” has required collaboration with local clinicians, practices, and hospital eye departments, Hedley shared.

“We are looking forward to working with all our professional stakeholders to grow and develop the course and support the delivery of high-quality accessible eye care across the Tees Valley,” she added.