23 June 2022
Below OT presents a summary of General Optical Council fitness to practise decisions published over the last six months.
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August
The GOC has suspended Batley-based dispensing optician, Sally Hilton (GOC registration D-11927), for a period of 12 months.
In a decision published on the optical regulator’s website, the reason for Hilton’s impaired fitness to practise was redacted.
The GOC fitness to practise committee determined that an immediate suspension order was necessary to protect members of the public.
July
An optometrist who sent inappropriate and sexual online messages has been erased from the GOC register.
Bristol-based optometrist, Matthew Bickerstaffe (GOC registration 01-19063) was referred to the optical regulator by the Bath and North East Somerset local authority designated officer after he sent inappropriate and sexual messages through the online messaging platform, Chatiw, and Snapchat.
A GOC fitness to practise committee noted that Bickerstaffe had made admissions and cooperated with the regulator.
“The Committee considered that conduct of this nature was extremely difficult to remediate,” the decision stated.
Aggravating factors considered by the committee included the inappropriate nature of the misconduct and the serious departure from professional standards.
Mitigating factors raised by the committee included that Bickerstaffe had no fitness to practise history and he had cooperated with the GOC. However, the regulator gave little weight to these factors.
The committee determined that Bickerstaffe’s conduct was “fundamentally incompatible” with registered practice and decided that erasure was the most proportionate sanction.
Two Birmingham-based student optometrists have been suspended from the GOC register following the fabrication of a contact lens fit.
A GOC committee heard that Hadiqa Ali (GOC registration SO-15035) fabricated a contact lens fit on behalf of Azhar Mahmood (GOC registration SO-16015).
Mahmood planned to present this clinical record knowing that it had been fabricated by Ali at his request.
The committee found that the fitness to train of both student optometrists was impaired by reason of misconduct.
The committee acknowledged a series of mitigating factors relating to Ali, including that she had self-referred to the GOC, she expressed remorse at an early stage and had received a number of positive testimonials.
The committee determined that the appropriate sanction for Ali was a three-month suspension.
When considering the appropriate sanction for Mahmood, the optical regulator took into account several aggravating factors, including that Mahmood “compounded the misconduct” by continuing the dishonesty during the initial investigation stages.
In mitigation, the committee considered the positive testimonials that were provided in support of Mahmood by professional colleagues, there was no evidence of repetition of the misconduct and Mahmood had shown remorse from an early stage.
The most appropriate sanction for Mahmood was determined to be a six-month period of suspension from the register.
A dispensing optician who drove while under the influence of cocaine has been suspended from the register for six months.
Newport-based practitioner, Gareth Harris (GOC registration D-11904) declared a criminal conviction for driving a motor vehicle under the influence of a controlled drug when completing his GOC registration annual retention form in 2023.
Harris received the conviction in November 2022 after he was found to have driven after taking cocaine. The proportion of the drug in his blood exceeded the legal limit by a factor of eight.
Aggravating factors considered by the GOC committee included the serious nature of the conviction and the fact that the registrant’s actions could have had “catastrophic consequences.”
In mitigation, the committee took into account the fact that Harris’ actions had been an isolated incident and he had no previous fitness to practise history.
“The registrant had demonstrated some insight into his actions. He had fully engaged with the council’s investigation and the hearing, and he had been remorseful,” the committee noted.
It was determined that a six-month suspension order was the appropriate sanction.
A Leicester-based optometrist who failed to conduct an adequate eye examination and maintain adequate records when testing the vision of a mystery shopper has been suspended from the GOC register for 28 days.
A fitness to practise committee decision noted that Rajeev Saigal (GOC registration 01-32137) failed to complete adequate internal and external examinations while performing a sight test on a mystery shopper in June 2023.
The committee shared that Saigal recorded that a series of clinical tests had been carried out on the mystery shopper when they had not.
In determining a sanction, the committee considered that no aggravating factors applied. Turning to mitigating factors, the committee highlighted that the conduct related to a single incident with a single patient on a single day.
Saigal had a previously “unblemished career,” he had engaged with the GOC, demonstrated insight into his behaviour and taken steps to remediate it.
The committee decided that a period of suspension of 28 days was an appropriate and proportionate sanction.
June
A student dispensing optician who attempted to appear fully qualified by giving false GOC numbers to employers has been erased from the register.
A fitness to practise committee heard that Naseem Suleman (GOC registration SD-7278) carried out activities that are reserved for fully qualified dispensing opticians.
As well as providing a false registration number, Suleman told a colleague that she was a fully qualified registrant. The committee determined that this conduct was dishonest.
Aggravating factors considered by the committee included that the misconduct was repeated and covered up. There was a potential for harm to patients and there was no evidence provided of remorse, reflection or remediation.
In mitigation, the committee shared that Suleman did not have prior fitness to practise history and there was no evidence of repetition of the conduct after the case came to the GOC.
The committee determined that Suleman’s conduct was “fundamentally incompatible” with continued registration.
May
An optometrist who falsely claimed that he had adequate insurance when renewing his GOC registration has been suspended from the register for nine months.
Birmingham-based practitioner, Mohammed Zada (GOC registration 01-28961) was found by a fitness to practise committee to have falsely claimed that he had adequate professional indemnity insurance when he did not.
The committee determined that when Zada entered an AOP membership number for a previous year into the online GOC retention form, he knew that he did not have cover for the specified period.
The committee found that Zada was aware that he was not insured to carry out his duties as an optometrist, and his actions were therefore dishonest.
Aggravating factors considered by the committee included that Zada had a fitness to practise history and he deliberately deceived both the regulator and his employers.
He worked 87 locum days over the period he was not insured – meaning that “hundreds of patients” would have been examined without adequate cover in place.
Mitigating factors considered by the committee include that Zada made full admissions to the allegations at an early stage,demonstrated sincere remorse, and apologised for his actions.
The committee also found that Zada had demonstrated substantial insight into his misconduct, and repetition was “highly unlikely.”
It was determined that a nine-month suspension order was necessary to meet the wider public interest and sufficiently mark the seriousness of the misconduct.
An optometrist based in Huddersfield has been erased from the GOC register after he failed to provide an adequate standard of care to patients and inappropriately amended patient records.
A fitness to practise committee found that Yaqut Khan (GOC registration 01-26586) had failed to make an urgent referral for a patient experiencing papilloedema, and incorrectly referred a patient for wet AMD when the patient had experienced a macular-off retinal detachment.
Khan also made dishonest amendments to patient records, claiming to have completed certain tests when he had not.
Aside from the patients discussed in detail within the decision, the committee found that Khan had failed to provide an adequate standard of care to a series of patients between August 2018 and August 2019.
Clinical errors included failing to conduct an internal examination of the eye, failing to carry out a cover test, and neglecting to explore or assess visual symptoms when a patient reported difficulties with near or distance vision.
Aggravating factors considered by the committee include the scale of the misconduct – with a large number of patients, who were placed at potential risk of harm, affected.
There were also three instances of dishonesty, including the amendment of records.
The mitigating circumstances considered by the committee included partial insight by Khan, with the completion of continuing professional development and other steps taken to remediate his conduct.
He had also completed five years of practice since the conduct, without evidence of repetition.
Several testimonials were provided, including one from a current manager and several from patients. There was no evidence of actual harm to a patient as a result of Khan’s conduct.
Giving weight to the need to protect the public and maintain public confidence in the profession, the committee determined that the appropriate sanction was erasure from the register.
April
Failures to adequately record clinical information have seen a Peterhead-based optometrist suspended for two months by the GOC.
A fitness to practise committee decision outlined how John Watson (GOC registration 01-15228) on several occasions failed to record the results of visual field tests.
There was also a “pattern of behaviour” where he would overwrite intraocular pressure (IOP) on patient records.
The aggravating circumstances detailed by the committee include that by overwriting IOPs, Watson put multiple patients at risk of harm. He also denied responsibility in the early stages of the employer investigation.
However, in mitigation, the committee highlighted that Watson had received positive references from a wide range of people who had worked with him for an extended period of time.
He also had positive patient feedback, clinical audits and supervisor feedback.
The decision stated that Watson had demonstrated significant insight into his conduct and reflection, as well as expressing remorse. The committee considered that there was a low risk of repetition of the misconduct.
Balancing the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, the committee determined that a suspension for a period of two months would be appropriate.
The GOC learning bulletin, FtP Focus, also provides details on the types of concerns the optical regulator receives and how it assesses them during an investigation. If you have suggestions for future topics to cover, contact the GOC by email.
OT only includes cases that the GOC has deemed to be of public interest within this synopsis. In line with policy, case summaries will be removed from the OT website after six months.