The General Optical Council (GOC) is an organisation in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

which maintains a register of opticians and regulates the services provided by

dispensing optician An optician, or ''dispensing optician'', is a technical practitioner who designs, fits and dispenses lenses for the correction of a person's vision. Opticians determine the specifications of various Ophthalmology, ophthalmic appliances that wil ...

s and

optometrist Optometry is a specialized health care profession that involves examining the eyes and related structures for defects or abnormalities. Optometrists are health care professionals who typically provide comprehensive primary eye care. In the Uni ...

s. The stated function of the GOC is "''to protect the public and promote high standards of professional conduct and education amongst opticians''".

Role

In order to practice as

or work as a

within the UK, individuals must demonstrate to the GOC that they are suitably qualified and fit to practise. The GOC also maintains a register of companies who carry on business as opticians. , the register had around 30,000 optometrists, dispensing opticians, undergraduate optometry students, opticians and optical businesses. The GOC sets standards so that every registered practitioner knows what is expected of them. They take action against opticians who do not meet these standards of professional conduct and also against people or companies who break the terms of the Opticians Act. A consultation on new standards of practice in 2015 received 2,000 responses. The

Optical Confederation The Optical Confederation is a British trade association launched in April 2010. It is said to help the optometric profession to "punch well above its weight". Lobbying is one of its key activities. It agrees on advice to opticians with the Depa ...

and other trade associations called for the new standards to be proportionate to the risks.

History

The GOC was set up by the Opticians Act 1958 to maintain a register of opticians and to uphold the Act. Legislation was subsequently consolidated with the

Opticians Act 1989 An optician, or ''dispensing optician'', is a technical practitioner who designs, fits and dispenses lenses for the correction of a person's vision. Opticians determine the specifications of various ophthalmic appliances that will give the nec ...

. The GOC was in the news at the end of September 2005 after taking action against

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...

UK for "''‘aiding and abetting’ sales of contact lenses without the involvement of a qualified optician.''"

Oversight of health and social care regulators

The

Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) oversees the nine statutory bodies that regulate health professionals in the United Kingdom and social care in England. Where occupations are not subject to statutory regulation ...

(PSA), is an independent body accountable to the UK Parliament, which promotes the health and wellbeing of the public and oversees the twelve UK healthcare regulators, including the General Optical Council.

References

External links

* {{authority control Eye care in the United Kingdom Medical and health regulators Medical associations based in the United Kingdom Medical regulation in the United Kingdom Organisations based in the City of London Organizations established in 1958 Regulators of the United Kingdom 1958 establishments in the United Kingdom