General Optical Council

The General Optical Council (GOC) has today launched a campaign to recruit 20 registrants to its Hearings Panel.

The regulator is seeking 12 optometrists and eight dispensing opticians to fill the vacancies, which have arisen because the current panel’s terms expire on 30 June 2015.

Applications close on Monday 9 February at 17:00. Members of the Panel sit in two capacities:

• as members of the Fitness to Practise (FTP) Committee – this judges whether a registrant’s fitness to practise is impaired. If they find that it is, there are a range of sanctions they can impose against the registrant; and
• as members of the Registration Appeals Committee – this is constituted to hear and determine any appeals against any decision of the Registrar refusing to enter the name of an individual or body corporate on, or to restore it to, the appropriate Register.

GOC Chair, Gareth Hadley, said: “We are looking for individuals who are able to bring a fresh perspective, which means recruiting from a wide range of backgrounds. Given the increasing divergence in the way our registrants are delivering their services, this includes representation from all four of the UK nations. We also particularly welcome applications from women and ethnic minorities.

“Applicants must be able to demonstrate critical thinking skills, the ability to process large volumes of often complex material, exercise judgment, and demonstrate a strong capacity for empathy.”

These are part time roles with a commitment of approximately 20 days per annum. They are remunerated at £300 per day. The initial tenure will be three years with the possibility of serving a maximum ten year term, subject to satisfactory annual appraisals. Most meetings are held in central London.

For more information, or to apply, registrants should visit https://www.optical.org/en/about_us/working_for_us/vacancies/index.cfm

ENDS

For media enquiries please contact:

Simon Grier
Communications Manager
General Optical Council
t: 020 7307 3478
e: sgrier@optical.org

 

Notes to editors

1. A list of the current members is available on the GOC website at https://www.optical.org/en/about_us/People/Hearings_Panel_members.cfm

 

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, performance and conduct amongst opticians. The Council currently registers around 26,000 optometrists, dispensing opticians, student opticians and optical businesses.