The GOC has published a summary of the responses it received to its Education Strategic Review Call for Evidence. This shows a broad consensus across the sector that the system of optical education and training is in need of change and that there is an appetite for this.
The GOC heard that stakeholders expect that an increasingly ageing population with multiple and more complex needs will lead to increased demand for eye care, and that they anticipate that in the future more optical care will be provided in the community, including in domiciliary settings.
The GOC also learnt that stakeholders expect future graduating optometrists to have a greater understanding of wider patient health needs, be equipped to work in multi-disciplinary settings and have a good understanding of clinical governance.
Director of Strategy Alistair Bridge said: “The delivery of the Education Strategic Review is one of our key priorities and I would like to thank everyone who submitted a response to our call for evidence. It is clear from the response to the call for evidence that now is the time to review the system of optical education and training, to ensure that it keeps up with upcoming challenges facing the sector. We have heard what our stakeholders have told us and will draw on this feedback as we now progress to developing proposals for change. We will continue to engage with all our stakeholders throughout this work.”
The GOC’s Education Strategic Review call for evidence ran from December 2016 to March 2017 and sought feedback on 17 wide-ranging questions about the future of eye care delivery and the implications for the education of optical profession. A range of detailed and considered responses were received from 55 stakeholders.
The Summary of the Responses to the Call for Evidence on the GOC’s Education Strategic Review, along with an annex of all responses where consent was given for publication, is available here: https://www.optical.org/en/news_publications/Publications/policy-and-research-papers.cfm.