DO takes on GOC role

DO and student CLO, Fahima Adam

Dispensing optician and student contact lens optician, Fahima Adam, has been appointed as a General Optical Council (GOC) council associate – alongside optometrist, Indy Ghuman.

As council associates, Fahima and Indy will gain boardroom experience through taking part in GOC council meetings and associated activities, and attending Audit, Risk and Finance Committee meetings. Whilst not voting members, they are encouraged to contribute to discussions – and are replacing Rupa Patel and Desislava Pirkova in these roles.

Fahima works as a dispensing consultant for the east region at Specsavers and is a Cert 4 facilitator, teaching the next generation of dispensing opticians. She is also an outreach coordinator for Vision Care, and a talk and support facilitator for the RNIB. In 2025, she won the Doug Perkins Dispensing Optician Award for Clinical Excellence.

Whilst studying for a degree in English Language and Literature, Fahima worked part-time in optics. This experience led her to enrol onto the Dispensing Optician Diploma and she qualified in 2024. She is currently studying for her Contact Lens Diploma and the ABDO Level 7 Diploma in Paediatric Eyecare.

Fahima said: “I am pleased to be appointed as a GOC council associate. I look forward to attending council meetings and learning all about the work and effort that goes into protecting our communities and practitioners and ensuring the highest standards of eyecare”.

Indy is a specialist optometrist at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, where he works across a range of services including consultant glaucoma, medical retina, external disease, urgent care, and specialist contact lenses.

He graduated from Aston University with a first-class degree in Optometry and has since completed further qualifications in glaucoma and medical retina. He is currently undertaking an MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice in Ophthalmology at University College London.

Indy has served two terms as a national councillor for the Association of Optometrists, and has contributed to education reform initiatives linked to the GOC Education Strategic Review.

Indy said: “I am pleased to be appointed as a council associate and to support the GOC’s work in protecting the public. I look forward to developing my understanding of regulation at a strategic level and contributing a clinical perspective to council discussions.”

GOC council chair, Dr Anne Wright, said: “I am pleased to welcome Fahima and Indy as council associates, and thank Rupa Patel and Desislava Pirkova for their contributions as part of the scheme. The council associate scheme enhances the work that council does to protect patients and the public, by gaining broader perspectives to represent the diverse needs of our registrants, staff and other stakeholder groups.

“Fahima and Indy’s contributions and range of experience will bring interesting and valuable insights to the council discussions. I also hope the scheme will be a beneficial development opportunity for them both,” she added.