Our aims are to ensure that optometrists' skills are constantly developed to meet new models of eye care and improve patient outcomes.
We have responded the General Optical Council (GOC) consultation proposing to reform optometrists' Continuing Professional Development into a flexible, less prescriptive system.
Standards and guidance for non-medical eye healthcare professionals to deliver patient care in a multidisciplinary team setting.
The GOC outcomes and competencies that qualify all optometrists to deliver MECS and CUES.
We welcomed 11 new Life and Honorary Fellows and three new Fellowships by Portfolio.
On Tuesday 18 November, the College welcomed over 450 new optometrists to the profession in two College Diploma Ceremonies held in Westminster, London.
In our response, we have highlighted the critical role of primary eye care and the optometric workforce in delivering integrated, cost-effective NHS services.
The new framework recognises primary eye care as fundamental to NHS provision and local leadership.
Optometrists have evolved from prescribers of spectacles to crucial primary care providers, writes Becky McCall.
College-accredited higher qualifications reflect the evolving reality of day-to-day clinical optometry practice. They prepare optometrists for enhanced roles and expanded responsibilities.
We are concerned that primary eye care has been omitted as a priority opportunity in the framework.
The College of Optometrists used this year’s major political party conferences to promote key messages about optometry and eye health to MPs and ministers, aligning discussions with the NHS 10-year health plan.
The College of Optometrists has presented Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh with an Honorary Fellowship of the College in recognition of Her Royal Highness’s outstanding contribution to eye health.
With the Diploma Ceremony taking place on 18 November 2025, we’re celebrating this special milestone with stories of your special day.
During a busy September, the College travelled around the UK to meet excited first-year optometry students as part of its 2025 student roadshows.
College welcomes the GOC’s thematic review on commercial practices and patient safety.