20 December 2024

FODO member update – 20 December

This week:

• FODO opening hours over the festive period
• Ophthalmic Bulletin - December 2024
• GOC business regulation consultation
• Important: CPD window closing - time to reflect!
• At a glance
• Health policy

FODO opening hours over the festive period

Please note our operating hours for the Christmas and New Year period are:

• 25-26 December: Closed
• 27 December: Closed - out-of-hours support available to members
• 30-31 December: Closed - out-of-hours support available to members
• 1 January: Closed

Members who need support outside business hours should email [email protected]. We will respond within two working days. If you email, we will also provide a contact number for any urgent matter that requires a same-day response.

FODO news will also take a short break. 20 December will be the last newsletter for 2024, and we will return on 10 January. As always, if any urgent matter arises, we will send an update as soon as possible.
 
Meanwhile, we wish you all a lovely festive break. This year, instead of sending Christmas cards, we are donating £50 to the Royal Society for Blind Children. 

Ophthalmic Bulletin - December 2024

PCSE has published the latest ophthalmic bulletin. The update includes what PCSE refers to as new early re-test codes. To learn more about these, please see the 29 November ONFC update. 

GOC business regulation consultation

Thank you to members who responded to our 25 October request for feedback on the GOC consultation on business regulation. We are now drafting a response and will share it with FODO members who volunteered to take part in early January so that there is time for a further round of feedback before we submit it on 22 January. If you would like to take part, please email [email protected]. 

Important: CPD window closing - time to reflect!

The latest GOC data shows that as of December 2024, 81-89% of registrants were on track with logging their CPD requirements. However, only 47% of registrants had submitted their reflective exercise. To avoid any last-minute issues, it's essential to read the GOC's guide on the reflective exercise and then complete all necessary CPD steps in time.
 
If you still need to undertake CPD before you do your reflective exercise, you can access FODO resources here and other free CPD here. 

At a glance

• Luke Stevens-Burt, BCLA CEO, has announced he will leave the organisation after more than five years at the helm. The BCLA thanked Luke, who bolstered its reputation as a highly respected global body on contact lenses, the anterior eye and the ocular surface.
• GOC signs Memorandum of understanding on investigating healthcare incidents. Read more.
• Associate medical director (multiple posts), Black Country ICB, now open to optometrists. Closes 9 January 2025. Learn more and apply.
• UKHSA provides basic IPC advice to reduce winter bugs this festive season.
• New apprenticeship to train specialists in children's eye care and vision problems. Read more.
• New BOSU study to investigate gonococcal eye infection. Read more.

Health policy

• Streeting tells Health Committee that analogue to digital is the most important key shift. Read more.
• Last week, we reported that NHS planning guidance was due shortly; the HSJ has not confirmed the guidance will be delayed until 2025.