Seven insights from the GOC

A thematic review on commercial pressures and the 2026 UK Optical Education Report were discussed at the latest meeting of the General Optical Council (30 September, held online).

Responses to a GOC consultation on CPD reform and the Lord Mann review of antisemitism and other forms of racism in the NHS were also on the agenda. Here, OT presents a selection of insights from the meeting.

1 CPD reform in the spotlight

At the meeting, the GOC approved its response to a consultation on proposed reforms to continuing professional development (CPD).

These reforms including a longer-term ambition to move away from a points-based system towards an outcomes-focused approach.

The changes would also mean that the GOC would no longer be required to approve CPD providers.

However, legislative change is required to implement the proposed reforms – meaning that these measures would take effect in 2031 at the earliest.

Proposed changes for the 2028–2030 CPD cycle include reducing the number of mandatory learning domains, removing barriers to self-directed CPD and incorporating patient feedback within CPD.

Other provider-related proposals include making it easier for CPD providers to move from provisional to full approval status and reducing the number of CPD provider audits over the cycle.

The final consultation response will be published in October 2026.

2 A deep-dive on commercial pressures in optometry

The GOC discussed a thematic review examining how commercial practices in primary eye care may affect patient safety.

Reflecting on why the optical regulator carried out the thematic review, GOC policy manager, Marie Bunby, highlighted that optometry practices offer primary care on the High Street.

“This model brings important benefits – including innovation, investment in technology, improved access, greater patient choice, and convenient local services. Public trust in eye care is strong, with high levels of patient satisfaction and a motivated workforce committed to helping patients,” she said.

“However, we've repeatedly heard concerns about commercial pressures, including sales targets, appointment volumes, testing times, pricing practices, and barriers for vulnerable groups, which may affect patient care and professional well-being,” Bunby explained.

The policy manager highlighted that the aim of conducting the thematic review was to understand the nature and extent of commercial practices and their impact.

The review explored five key areas: sales targets and incentives, booking practices, sight testing times, transparency of pricing and NHS financial support, and sight tests for young children.

GOC director of regulatory strategy, Steve Brooker, highlighted that the thematic review identified concerns about practitioner wellbeing.

“What I see is a profession delivering a fantastic patient experience, but worried about their ability to deliver safe patient care,” he said.

“We’ve not found any direct evidence of commercial practices causing patient harm, but clearly there are concerns about registrants’ welfare. If you don’t feel safe in your work, it’s going to be much more difficult for you to deliver safe patient care,” Brooker reflected.

What I see is a profession delivering a fantastic patient experience, but worried about their ability to deliver safe patient care

3 A third of optical professionals feel pressured to meet sales targets

Reflecting on sales targets and incentives, Bunby highlighted that the review concluded these are common within optical retail – with the potential to create tension when commercial objectives conflict with patients' best interests.

“Sales targets and incentives should therefore be designed to drive a culture which is aligned to the best interests of patients,” she said.

“Many registrants report experiencing commercial pressure, with around a third feeling pressured to meet targets or sell higher value products, and these pressures are linked to concerns about ability to provide safe patient care,” Bunby observed.

She added that pressure selling can undermine public trust and may discourage some people from attending future eye appointments.

Bunby noted that commercial pressures appear more pronounced among less experienced professionals and those working for multiple practices.

“We also found that registrants appear to lack confidence in managing conflicts of interest and may need further support,” she said.

4 The implications of overbooking

Reflecting on booking practices, Bunby shared that the review concluded overbooking is not “inherently problematic.”

“It can support access to eye care, but only when it's managed carefully. Practices need to protect sustainable workloads and give registrants enough time to test each patient properly,” she said.

“The evidence also indicates that some booking practices are having a negative effect on registrants’ well-being,” Bunby highlighted.

She added that registrants expressed concern about rushed appointments, stress, missed breaks, and the longer-term impact on morale and retention.

“We concluded that students and early career professionals need greater support to manage these pressures and to raise concerns when booking expectations feel unsafe or unrealistic,” the policy manager emphasised.

Bunby noted that the GOC is not in favour of setting a universal minimum sight testing time.

“Businesses have different sight testing models, and patients have different needs, so a fixed requirement could create unintended consequences,” she said.

Bunby highlighted that online price transparency was inconsistent, with only 38% of sampled websites displaying sight test prices.

“Costs for OCT scans and other add-ons are often unclear, creating confusion for patients about what’s included in the sight test,” she said.

GOC member, Poonam Sharma, highlighted that the wellbeing of the workforce is a patient safety issue.

“Yes, the majority of registrants are delivering safe care but that may mean that they are working longer hours, or not having sufficient lunch breaks,” she said.

She added that a key issue will be improving the psychological safety for newly qualified and early career practitioners.

Sharma shared that this group of professionals often do not feel comfortable challenging working conditions.

“If you enter the profession and you see everyone working that way, it becomes normalised,” she said.

Yes, the majority of registrants are delivering safe care but that may mean that they are working longer hours, or not having sufficient lunch breaks

5 Barriers to accessing eye care for young children

Addressing the provision of sight tests for children under the age of five, Bunby noted that while children of this age are entitled to free sight tests, access remains uneven.

“Child sight testing activity is concentrated among a relatively small number of businesses. Some providers carry out few or no sight tests for young children, creating a risk that skills and confidence are lost,” she highlighted.

Bunby shared that barriers to access in this patient group include commercial pressures, time, equipment, confidence, and training, as well as inconsistent front of house practices.

“Awareness is another key challenge. Parents and carers may not know that optometrists can test young children or treat their eye conditions,” she said.

6 Latest EDI report provides a statistical snapshot of the profession

The GOC Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Annual Monitoring report for 2026 was presented at the meeting.

Alongside describing progress that the optical regulator has made internally on EDI, the report outlines the current demographics of optometry and dispensing optics – and flags any fitness to practise areas that may suggest further investigation is needed to prevent inequality.

The report highlighted that 65% of optometrists and dispensing opticians are female, rising to 70% among students.

Speaking at the GOC meeting, EDI manager, Joanna Murphy, reflected: “This isn’t simply a snapshot of today’s profession – it potentially gives us an indication of the profession that we will be regulating in the future.”

“That matters because we need to make sure our communication, our engagement, and our regulatory processes continue to work for the profession that we’re actually regulating,” Murphy highlighted.

While women are overrepresented in terms of the registrant base as a whole, only 35% of registrants under a fitness to practise investigation are female.

There is a disproportionate number of Asian or British Asian optometrists and dispensing opticians who were referred to the General Optical Council for fitness to practise concerns – with this demographic making up 52% of referrals, while accounting for 38% of the registrant base.

However, this disparity does not persist in terms of fitness to practise investigations – with 32% of registrants under investigation Asian or British Asian.

GOC council associate, Indy Ghuman, noted that while it was positive to see little evidence of a disproportionality within fitness to practise processes, a broader picture may be useful.

“I thought it might hold some value to look at people's experience during the fitness practise process and the regulatory process, rather than just what the final outcome was,” he said.

“It might provide extra information, especially where we see registrants declaring that they feel discriminated against,” Ghuman noted.

At the meeting, the GOC also discussed work that is being undertaken by the optical regulator following the publication of the The Lord Mann review on antisemitism and other forms of racism in the NHS in June.

One of the recommendations of the Lord Mann review was for healthcare regulators to develop a consistent approach to definitions relating to racism and religious hatred.

The GOC has decided to use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism and the UK Government’s definition of anti-Muslim hostility.

7 Optometry admissions increase 16%

At the meeting, the GOC considered an annual report on optical education and training across the UK.

The 2026 UK optical education report revealed that optometry admissions had increased 16% on the previous year, while dispensing optics admissions rose by 47%.

The number of independent prescribing trainees increased by 40% on the previous year – from 415 to 580.

However, the number of practitioners undertaking contact lens optics qualifications fell by 27% on the previous year – from 56 to 41.

The report noted that 20% of optometry student respondents had taken a leave of absence due to stress in the past year – compared to 15% of qualified optometrists.