The General Optical Council (GOC) has today launched a consultation on draft guidance on its standards relating to obtaining valid consent and meeting the duty of candour.
The standards in these two areas came into force in April 2016. The draft guidance has been developed to assist registrants in meeting these new standards.
The GOC is now seeking stakeholder views on the draft guidance with a view to publishing the final versions by the end of 2016.
Marcus Dye, GOC head of education and standards said, “It was clear from our standards consultation last year that registrants would like more guidance to help them apply the standards relating to the duty of candour and obtaining valid consent in practice. Candour is a relatively new concept in healthcare and there is a professional responsibility to be open and transparent with patients when things go wrong. It is also important for registrants to obtain valid consent before examining a patient or providing treatment.
“This guidance helps to make clearer what the Standards mean in practice and to support our registrants in applying them. We have run CET events at recent major trade shows, but we want to make sure that clear, written guidance is available to all in these areas. I urge all registrants and stakeholders to read the draft guidance and let us know their views.”
The consultation will run until 6 September 2016. To read the new guidance, and respond to the consultation, visit: https://www.optical.org/en/get-involved/consultations/index.cfm.