General Optical Council Consults On Welsh Language Scheme, Wales

Main Category: Eye Health / Blindness
Article Date: 11 Jun 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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The General Optical Council (GOC) has launched a consultation on its proposed Welsh Language Scheme. Anyone with an interest in the GOC's work is encouraged to offer their suggestions and feedback on the draft proposals.

Under the scheme, when providing services to the public in Wales the GOC will aim to treat the English and Welsh languages equally.

Kate Fielding, GOC Director of Communication and Information, said: "Bilingual provision plays a crucial role in enabling the Council to deliver high-quality services to the Welsh-speaking public. Our Welsh Language Scheme needs to be fit for purpose, and we're asking for stakeholder input to help us achieve this."

Measures outlined in the draft proposals include:

- Making public/ patient areas of the GOC website available in Welsh;
- Producing a Welsh version of the GOC Annual Report;
- Offering witnesses in Fitness to Practise hearings the opportunity to address the hearing in Welsh; and
- Maintaining a database of individuals and organisations who wish to correspond in Welsh.

The consultation has been distributed to patient and public groups, optical and regulatory bodies, community health councils, and Welsh-speaking community contacts. Public notices of the consultation are also appearing in The Western Mail and the Welsh-language magazine Golwg.

The consultation closes on 11 September and is available to view and respond to online at http://www.optical.org.

About the General Optical Council

The GOC is the regulator for the optical professions in the UK. Its purpose is to protect the public by promoting high standards of education, performance and conduct amongst opticians. The Council currently registers around 23,500 optometrists, dispensing opticians, student opticians and optical businesses.

1. As a public body the GOC is required by the Welsh Assembly Government, under the Welsh Language Act 1993, to prepare a Welsh Language Scheme.

Source
General Optical Council