About this course
This course is relevant to registrants, practice managers and optical support staff.
CPD Time: 90 minutes (1.50 CE Credits)
Assessment: 10 MCQs. Pass mark 80%. more…
On passing the assessment you will immediately receive a CPD Certificate.
Customer feedback on this course
- Clear, practical and directly applicable to our rota and recording systems.
- Excellent explanation of direct, indirect and remote supervision with useful examples.
- Helped our team formalise delegation records and reduce escalation errors.
- Valuable scenarios on paediatric dispensing and locum gaps — very realistic.
- Concise templates and checklists we adapted for immediate use in practice.
Aim:
The aim of this course is to ensure registrants and practice teams understand and can apply GOC Standard 9 so supervision and delegation are lawful, safe and auditable.
Course objective:
- Clarify the legal and professional requirements for supervision and delegation in UK optical practice.
- Provide practical guidance on choosing supervision levels, documenting oversight and managing emergencies when registrants are absent.
Anticipated learning outcomes:
The learner will:
- Explain GOC Standard 9 requirements for supervision and the difference between direct, indirect and remote supervision.
- Identify restricted tasks that require on-site registrant oversight and apply appropriate responses when these arise.
- Apply safe delegation principles, competence checks and escalation rules in a small practice setting.
- Document supervision events and remote advice clearly, including supervisor identity, mode and timestamps.
- Manage urgent red-flag situations without a registrant present by following escalation protocols and recording actions taken.
GOC Development Outcomes:
Standard 9
Learning content:
Introduction: Why Supervision Matters | Legal and Professional Framework | Scenario Page 1: Everyday Delegation | Models of Supervision | Scenario Page 2: Supervision in Absentia | Delegation and Accountability | Scenario Page 3: Patient Transparency | Supporting Staff Development | Emergency Situations When No Clinician Is Present | Scenario Page 4: Emergency Response Without Clinician | Documenting Supervision | Reflection and Continuous Improvement | MCQ | Reading List
View full course description
GOC Standard 9: Safe and Lawful Supervision in Optical Practice
Course Description
Overview
This practical course helps optical teams translate GOC Standard 9 and the Opticians Act into everyday, auditable supervision and delegation. It focuses on lawful boundaries, documentation, escalation and emergency actions to protect patients and make accountability clear.
Introduction: Why Supervision Matters
Covers the role of supervision in patient safety, registrant accountability, transparency with patients, common failure modes and how supervision supports staff development.
Legal and Professional Framework
Explains GOC Standard 9, relevant Opticians Act restrictions, definitions of direct, indirect and remote supervision, restricted activities and employer duties.
Scenario Page 1: Everyday Delegation
Practical scenarios on dispensing to children, routine adult adjustments and lawful delegation boundaries, with clear documentation requirements and supervisor identification.
Models of Supervision
Defines direct, indirect and remote supervision with examples, the supervision matrix, escalation triggers and governance implications for rotas and clinical cover.
Scenario Page 2: Supervision in Absentia
Addresses locum gaps, paediatric dispensing challenges, phone advice for contact lens issues and safe limits of remote advice, including recording and follow-up plans.
Delegation and Accountability
Sets out principles for safe delegation, competence assessment and sign-off, escalation rules and communicating boundaries to patients and staff.
Scenario Page 3: Patient Transparency
Covers managing patient misunderstandings about roles, safe redirection, handling refusals to wait for a registrant and documenting offered options.
Supporting Staff Development
Describes structured training pathways, observation-to-independent practice models, deliberate practice with feedback and maintaining competence.
Emergency Situations When No Clinician Is Present
Identifies red-flag ocular and systemic signs, first-aid actions within competence (for example irrigation), escalation to emergency services and registrant notification, plus documentation and post-event review.
Scenario Page 4: Emergency Response Without Clinician
Model responses for chemical eye injury, telephone triage for sudden vision loss, structured escalation, safety-netting and recording verbatim accounts and actions.
Documenting Supervision
What to record for every supervision event, how to record remote advice (mode, timestamps), practical notation examples and creating an auditable trail.
Reflection and Continuous Improvement
Auditing supervision records, learning from incidents and near-misses, resilience planning for rota gaps and embedding improvements into governance.
Course Completion
You will complete a feedback survey, pass a multiple-choice assessment and receive a CPD certificate. Apply the templates and checklists to your local SOPs and record supervision events in clinical notes.
You can copy and adapt this example PDP entry for your own needs and circumstances.
| PDP Learning or Maintenance need |
| Understanding and applying GOC Standard 9 for supervision and delegation. |
| How does this relate to my field of practice? |
| Ensures lawful delegation, safe patient care and correct escalation when registrants are absent. |
| Which development outcome(s) does it link to? |
| GOC Standard 9 – supervision and delegation |
| What benefit will this have to my work? |
| Reduces legal risk, improves patient safety and clarifies team roles and escalation pathways. |
| How will I meet this learning or maintenance need? |
| Complete this course, update local SOPs and document supervision in clinical records. |
| When will I complete the activity? |