Overview of Disciplinary Hearings & Sanctions Lisa Davis, Head of Fitness to Practise Friday 17 October 2014

Overview of Disciplinary Hearings & Sanctions

Lisa Davis, Head of Fitness to Practise

www.optical.org

Friday 17 October 2014

General Optical Council 2

About us

• We regulate optometrists, dispensing opticians, students training to be optometrists or dispensing opticians and optical businesses in the UK

• As at 31 December 2013 there were 26,435 registrants on the register

• Our statutory powers are derived from the Opticians Act 1989 (as amended) and various Rules that sit thereunder i.e. The General Optical Council (Fitness to Practise) Rules Order of Council 2013

Our main functions

• One of nine regulators of the healthcare professions

• Regulators protect the public by restricting who can practise a profession

• Independent of the government and our work is overseen by a separate statutory organisation – the Professional Standards Authority (PSA)


Our mission and values

Our Mission

Our statutory function is ‘to protect, promote and maintain the health and safety’ of members of the public.

We interpret this in our mission as ‘to protect and promote the health and safety of the public’.

Our Values

We are responsible, forward thinking and principled.


How do we protect the public?

• Set standards for optical education, training, performance and behaviour

• Approve the qualifications that lead to registration

• Publish registers of optometrists, dispensing opticians, students and optical businesses in the UK

• Investigate and act on concerns about our registrants – are they fit to practise?

•


Fitness to practise complaints

A complaint that a GOC registrant may not be fit to practise can be as a result of one or more different factors including:

•Poor professional performance

•Physical or mental health

•Fraud or dishonesty

•Criminal conviction or caution

•Being under the influence of alcohol or drugs at work

•Inappropriate behaviour


Number of registrants who were the subject of complaints in the period 1 April 2010 - 31 March 2014

20/04/23 General Optical Council 7

Year Number of registrants

Total number of registrants

% of registrants subject to complaints

2010-11 184 24,656 0.7%

2011-12 213 25,461 0.8%

2012-13 239 26,616 0.9%

2013-14 189 26,435 0.7%

What happens when a complaint is received?

• Information gathering / investigation

• Registrant representations

• Case examiner consideration:

i. No further action (NFA)

ii. NFA with Advice / Warning

iii.Health / Performance Assessment

iv. Referral to the Fitness to Practise Committee (FTPC) for hearing


Outcomes decided by the Investigation Committee for the period 1 April 2013 - 31 March 2014 for all cases considered in this period (including those where cases were opened before 1 April 2013)


Outcome 2012-13 % 2013-14 %No further action 122 39.7 132 46.8Referral to FTPC 50 16.3 49 17.4No further action with advice 31 10.1 35 12.4Further investigation required 27 8.8 9 3.2Minded to issue a warning 24 7.8 14 5.0Warning 19 6.2 10 3.5Direction for a performance assessment 9 2.9 8 2.8Direction for a health assessment 7 2.3 4 1.4Withdrawn by complainant 7 2.3 5 1.8Termination of referral to FTPC 5 1.6 9 3.2Review of decision not to refer to FTPC 4 1.3 0 0.0Voluntary performance review 2 0.7 7 2.5

TOTAL 307 282

Fitness to Practise Hearing – Interim Order

• Immediate order where satisfied that it is necessary to restrict the registrant’s practice to protect the public; is otherwise in the public interest; or in the registrant’s own interests

• Order for up to 18 months – suspension or conditions

• Last financial year – 14 sought, 11 obtained


Types of cases where an Interim Order may be imposed

• Failure to detect retinoblastoma and blindness in a child – 18 month ICRO

• Drink-driving conviction & alcohol dependence – 18 month ISO

• Rape & assault of a child – 18 month ISO

• Criminal convictions for criminal damage and making threats to kill, and failure to disclose these – 18 month ISO

• Consuming alcohol before testing sight of patients – 18 month ISO

cont’dGeneral Optical Council 11

Types of cases where an Interim Order may be imposed

• Criminal conviction for assault for which term of imprisonment given – 18 month ISO

• Registrant suffering from depression and alcoholism; drug taker – 18 month ICRO

• Concerns relating to clinical practice following a performance assessment – 18 month ICRO

• Caution for drugs and disorderly behaviour – 18 month ICRO

• Poor clinical procedures on a child – 18 month ICRO


Fitness to Practise Hearing – Substantive

FTPC follows a four stage process:

1.Committee decides whether factual allegations are proved by reference to the civil standard

2.If factual allegations are proven, whether facts amount to one of the grounds of impairment:

a. Misconduct;

b. Deficient professional performance;

c. Conviction or caution;

d. Adverse physical or mental health; or

e. Adverse determination by another regulatory body

cont’d General Optical Council 13

Fitness to Practise Hearing – Substantive

3. Consideration as to whether the registrant is currently impaired

4. Sanction

a. Erasure

b. Suspension

c. Conditional registration

d. Warning

e. Payment of a financial penalty


Types of cases involving fraud

• Complaint received earlier this year anonymously, that employees have amended patient records by noting down a superior product, whilst providing a lesser product.

• Complaint received from NHS that:

i. During a 4 year period, registrant was responsible for operation of a scheme

whereby false claims to the value of almost £30,000 were submitted;

ii. Further failure to disclose matters

• Complaint from customer regarding supply of inferior quality spectacles those purchase; overcharging by registrant.

cont’dGeneral Optical Council 15


• Complaint that registrant falsified dates on records/in diaries to meet the PCT pre-notification requirements; over-frequent testing of patients; fraudulently completing/signing of GOS forms

• Making fraudulent refunds

• Fraudulently submitting H Voucher GOS claims to the NHS for payment when it is not clinically indicated

• In 426 cases, patients received inferior lens to that ordered resulting in £12810 over charge. Occurred over 2 year period – erased.

• Forged signature of supervisor whilst under pre-registration – erased



• Fraudulent refunds resulting in £2078 being stolen over 12 month period – erased

• Police caution for fraud by false representation – 9 month suspension

• Supplying false information to NHS – 6 months suspension


Breakdown of registrants who appeared before the FTPC


Outcomes decided by the FTPC

20/04/23 19

Outcome 2011-12 % 2012-13 % 2013-14 %

Erasure 8 26.7 7 19.4 9 22

Suspension 5 16.7 5 13.9 5 12.2

Conditions 2 6.7 4 11.1 1 2.4

Financial penalty - - - - 1 2.4

Warning 5 16.7 6 16.7 8 19.5

No further action / No case to answer

7 23.3 5 13.9 9 22.0

Suspension to continue following review hearing

1 3.3 1 2.8 0 0

Conditions to continue following review hearing

1 3.3 2 5.6 1 2.4

No impairment following review hearing

1 3.3 5 13.9 6 16.6

Erasure following review hearing

- - 1 2.8 1 2.4

TOTAL 30 36 41

Hearings – other types

• Reviews

• Restorations

• Registration Appeals

• Appeals against sanctions

• PSA appeals


Documents

Overview of Disciplinary Hearings & Sanctions Lisa Davis, Head of Fitness to Practise Friday 17 October 2014