General Optical Council

The General Optical Council (GOC) has today announced that Dionne Spence has been appointed as its Director of Casework and Resolutions.

Dionne will begin her role at the GOC on 28 January 2019. She replaces Lisa Davis, who left as Director of Fitness to Practise earlier this year to take up a Chief Executive role.

Dionne is currently Head of Casework Teams at the Financial Ombudsman Service. Prior to that she has had roles at the Prison and Probation Ombudsman, HM Inspectorate of Court Administration and HM Courts Service.

Dionne Spence said, “My top priority when I arrive at the GOC will be to help speed up the fitness to practise process and I’m looking forward to tackling this when I join in January. A quicker process, while continuing to deliver fair and correct outcomes, is in the interests of patients and registrants alike.”

Lesley Longstone, GOC Interim Chief Executive and Registrar, said, “I am pleased to welcome Dionne to our team. Her experience of leading large teams working on complex casework will be of huge benefit as we look to improve the time we take to deal with complaints.

“We have invested in more staff to help us speed up the FTP process, and policy changes such as consensual panel disposal and our new acceptance criteria will help too. Dionne’s experience and expertise will ensure we make the most of these opportunities.”

ENDS
 

For further information please contact:

 

Communications Team

General Optical Council

t: 020 7307 3478 – option 3

e: communications@optical.org

 

NOTES FOR EDITORS

 

1. A biography of Dionne is available on the GOC website here https://www.optical.org/en/about_us/People/senior-management-team.cfm

2. A photograph of Dionne is available on request.

 

About the General Optical Council:

The GOC is the regulator for the optical professions in the UK. Its purpose is to protect the public by promoting high standards of education, conduct and performance amongst opticians. The Council currently registers around 29,000 optometrists, dispensing opticians, student opticians and optical businesses.