GOC Meets All PSA Standards of Good Regulation for Third Year
12 March 2025
The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) has today published its review of the General Optical Council’s (GOC) performance in 2023-24. For the third year, the GOC has met all 18 of the PSA’s Standards of Good Regulation.
The report covers the period between 1 January and 31 December 2024 and highlights several areas of work where the GOC has performed well, including:
- Its range of staff networks and the way that the GOC uses these to raise awareness and help embed equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) across the organisation;
- Publication of annual education monitoring reports, containing information about how providers are widening participation to education and the impact of these initiatives;
- The way that the GOC applies the findings from its annual surveys to inform its work, such as the joint statement published on bullying, harassment, abuse and discrimination following its 2023 registrant survey;
- Proactively sharing information about serious incidents, noting the GOC’s mature approach to self-reporting and learning from incidents; and
- Proactive plans to commission research on the effectiveness of the new education and training requirements (ETR) outcomes and standards.
The report also recognises the GOC’s median timeframes for fitness to practise investigations remain some of the shortest among the health and social care regulators. The GOC will continue work to maintain and improve the timeliness of its fitness to practise cases, in line with its commitment in its upcoming Strategic Plan 2025-30 and through its fitness to practise improvement programme.
Chair of Council, Dr Anne Wright CBE, said:
“I am thrilled to welcome the PSA’s latest review, which recognises the various pieces of work we’ve delivered over the last year to meet all 18 standards for the third year running.
The report highlights the dedication and hard work of GOC staff to continue to build on the positive changes we have made to embed EDI across the organisation, which we will continue to work on as part of our EDI strategy for 2025-30.
I look forward to working with my fellow Council members and GOC staff to carry out our new vision to ensure safe and effective eye care for all.”
Chief Executive and Registrar, Leonie Milliner, said:
“I am delighted that we have met all of the PSA’s Standards for Good Regulation for the third year in row. The report affirms that we are fulfilling our mission to protect the public by upholding high standards in eye care services.
Our research to better understand registrants’ experiences has been a real highlight, alongside our work in EDI and the positive engagement with stakeholders in our work to revise and update our professional standards.
I’d like to thank Council, our members and all GOC staff for their contributions to help us achieve this positive report. We will strive to continue this as we embark on delivering our new corporate strategy for 2025-30.”