Good professional and human resources* practices are not only fair but also essential to your practice whatever its size.

The GOC business standards reinforce this by specifying that businesses have "a responsibility to ensure the care and safety of patients and the public and to uphold professional standards" (Introduction p6).

This is a direct, not a vicarious responsibility and involves enabling and supporting employed or engaged professionals to meet their own professional standards in the context of the business.

To meet the applicable GOC standards (shown in brackets below), you must have appropriate systems in place to:

• Provide all staff "with clear information in relation to all legislation relevant" to their role (2.2.6)
• "Induct new staff effectively and monitor them in meeting the requirements of the role" (3.2.4, 3.3.3)
• Check that all registrant staff have up-to-date registration (3.2.1)
• "Address and manage poor clinical and professional performance" (3.3.4)
• Monitor "staff objectives and training needs" (3.2.6)
• Support staff in developing their "communication skills and to treat patients with care and compassion" (3.2.2)
• Encourage "staff to undertake learning and development in relevant professional decision-making" (3.2.3)
• Encourage "staff to seek advice on difficult decisions, if they need to" and let them "know with whom they can do this" (3.1.5)
• Make clear that employed/engaged staff may "only work within the limits of their competence" and "take appropriate action where they do not" (3.2.5)
• Promote awareness of the GOC standards for individual registrants, students and optical businesses (3.1.1).

Clear job descriptions, HR policies and staff handbooks (including for temporary staff), combined with regular and systematic performance review and appraisal, will help you demonstrate compliance with all these standards. 

We would also encourage you to process CET claims forms for temporary staff or locums so they can comply with their own registration requirements. If, as a practitioner or business, you are having difficulty with this, please contact [email protected] or call us on 020 7298 5151 and we will help you resolve the matter. 

Read our full guidance on the GOC business standards.

Notes

*The standards define staff as "anyone working within the context of the business in any of the following capacities: Optometrists and dispensing opticians including independent prescribers (IPs), contact lens opticians (CLOs) and locums; student optometrists and student dispensing opticians; other regulated healthcare professionals such as ophthalmic medical practitioners (OMPs); optical assistants or similar titles performing the duties of an optical assistant; any other staff whose roles could have an impact on patient care, for example, reception staff." (Introduction p5