General Optical Council independent support service

Have you raised concerns with the General Optical Council (GOC)*, agreed to be a witness or, are you a registered optometrist, dispensing optician, student optometrist or dispensing optician going through the GOC’s fitness to practise process? If so, you’re able to access our independent support service.

We understand that the fitness to practise process can be a stressful experience and you may wish to talk to someone about how you are feeling. You can contact the GOC independent support service Monday to Friday between 8am and 6pm on 0300 303 5392 (excluding bank holidays). Calls are charged at local rates.

If you need support outside of these hours, you can call the same number and you’ll be directed to our 24/7 team who can provide immediate support.

What support do we offer?

You can talk to us about how you are feeling as well as the impact the process is having on you. We can support and guide you through what can be a difficult time.

We can discuss any areas of your life affected by your case where you may need practical help and advice. If we think another organisation may be able to offer you specialist support, we can discuss this and provide their details.

Our service is free, independent, confidential and non-judgemental. Unless we believe that you or others are at immediate risk of harm, we will not share anything that you say to us with the GOC.

We can’t offer legal advice or any guidance/advice about your specific case. Your named GOC contact is the best person to speak to if you have specific questions about your fitness to practise case.

We can support you if:

  • You have raised a fitness to practise concern.
  • You are a witness in a fitness to practise case.
  • You are a registered optometrist, involved in a fitness to practise case.
  • You are a registered dispensing optician, involved in a fitness to practise case.
  • You are a registered student optometrist involved in a fitness to practise case.
  • You are a registered student dispensing optician involved in a fitness to practise case.
  • You are an optician owner/employer involved in a fitness to practise case.

You can call us at any stage of the fitness to practise case, including once a decision at hearing has been reached, so that we can support you with the outcome.

Depending on when you call, you may have to wait a minute or so for your call to be answered, but we aim for everyone who calls to be answered as quickly as possible. A trained member of our dedicated team will answer the call between 8am and 6pm Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays). If you have any specific requirements for example if you are deaf or hard of hearing, you can contact us using Relay UK, putting 18001 ahead of the number you are calling.

If you would like help in another language during your contact with Victim Support, we are happy to arrange and pay for an interpreter to support you and answer any questions or concerns you have.

We do not receive details from the GOC about your case, as we are independent. This will mean we may need to ask you some questions to understand your situation, but you only need to tell us what you feel comfortable sharing.

After the initial call you will be allocated a caseworker who will be your consistent point of contact with us through the process.

We recognise that your needs may change as the case progresses, and contact may need to become more or less frequent with our service. Our support is tailored to each person so this will be something you can discuss directly with your caseworker to decide what works best for you.

We are happy to explain our service to you and give you any information that you need to decide if our support is right for you.

If you would like more information on how we can support you, please call us on 0300 303 5392. Our team is available Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm (excluding bank holidays).

For general information about the GOC, please visit the GOC website.

For specific information relating to the fitness to practise process we are available to support you through, please visit the raising concerns page on the GOC website.