09 August 2018

Guidance on record keeping – statement by the Optical Confederation and College of Optometrists

The Optical Confederation has received a number of enquiries about guidance issued by some NHS regions and LOCs regarding record keeping. While we understand and share the desire to improve standards, this is not, in our opinion, the way to achieve improvement. Any local guidance should simply direct people towards the comprehensive guidance that is already issued by the College of Optometrists alongside guidance issued by ABDO, AOP and FODO.

Local variations and additions to existing, national guidance can lead to confusion over the required standards, and potentially to errors. A particular concern is that local guidance may be misrepresented as the peer standard, which could have implications for any issues referred to the GOC or civil proceedings.

The Optical Confederation and the College of Optometrists agree that local record keeping advice that goes beyond directing people to the existing guidance issued by national bodies should be avoided.