Survey on the GOC's proposal to revise the 2013 statement on the testing of sight

The General Optical Council (GOC) has announced a consultation on updating its 2013 testing of sight statement, to clarify its position on pre-screening tests relating to the sight test that may be carried out by persons other than optometrists or registered medical practitioners.  

This survey is designed to find out our members’ experiences and opinions on the proposals and the views of non-members working in optometry.

The GOC’s move follows its call for evidence on the Opticians Act 1989 and consultation on associated GOC policies in 2023, at which point the regulator said that it would consider updating the 2013 statement on testing of sight to clarify the position in relation to pre-screening tests related to the sight test (referred to as ‘eye examination’ in Scotland) that may be carried out by persons other than the optometrist or registered medical practitioner.

You can find the AOP’s briefing note and FAQs on the consultation here.

This survey is open to AOP members and non-members and you don't need to be an optometrist or dispensing optician to complete it. There is a short opening section in the survey which is mandatory to complete – this should take 2 minutes to begin with. If you are short of time, you can submit your answers to this section, and skip over the other sections.

Or you can choose to fill in one or more of the fuller survey sections that follow. Pick the ones that are most relevant to your working circumstances.

We will find whatever you can provide valuable as we talk with other organisations in the sector and put together our final response to the consultation.

Please answer as many questions as you can, including those about your personal characteristics, as these will help us understand how experiences and opinions differ among our respondents. All your answers will be confidential and anonymous.

We are very grateful to you for sparing the time to share your opinions.