Reading List

This Reading List supports learning from the course and focuses on practical, UK-relevant guidance for respectful, fair, and accountable optical practice.

Core standards for UK optical practice

• General Optical Council Standard 13: Show respect and fairness to others and do not discriminate Core professional expectation for dignity, inclusion and non-discrimination in everyday care.
• General Optical Council Standard 2: Communicate effectively with your patients Sets the baseline for clear, patient-centred communication and opportunities to ask questions.
• GOC guidance on consent Practical expectations for obtaining and recording valid consent in optometric practice.
• The professional duty of candour Explains being open and honest when things go wrong and how to act proportionately.

Equality, discrimination and accessibility

• Protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 Defines the nine protected characteristics relevant to avoiding discrimination in services.
• EHRC Code of Practice: services, public functions and associations Authoritative guidance on applying equality law when providing healthcare services.
• Accessible Information Standard - implementation guidance How to meet AIS duties in practice, with steps and resources (June 2025).
• CQC: Meeting the Accessible Information Standard What inspectors look for when assessing compliance with AIS (August 2025).

Communication and shared decisions

• NICE guideline NG197: Shared decision making Evidence-based approaches to embed shared decisions in routine care (June 2021).
• NICE quality standard QS15: Patient experience in adult NHS services Quality statements for respectful communication and involvement (amended July 2019).
• College of Optometrists: Communicating effectively with patients Optometry-specific techniques for clear explanations, consent checks and teach-back.
• NHS Health Literacy Toolkit Practical tools including teach-back and plain English to improve understanding (June 2023).

Working with carers, interpreters and inclusive practice

• NICE guideline NG150: Supporting adult carers How to identify, involve and support adult carers appropriately (January 2020).
• NHS England: Interpreting and translation in primary care Responsibilities and routes for arranging professional interpreters in primary care.
• Eye care and people with learning disabilities: making reasonable adjustments Practical adaptations for inclusive eye care and consent conversations (January 2020).

Records, complaints and accountability

• General Optical Council Standard 8: Maintain adequate patient records Requirements for clear, contemporaneous and accessible records.
• College of Optometrists: What to record Detailed checklist for neutral, complete and useful clinical notes.
• General Optical Council Standard 18: Respond to complaints effectively Expectations for proportionate, fair handling of concerns and signposting to OCCS.

Staff safety and boundaries

• Violence prevention and reduction standard Framework for preventing and responding to abuse of staff in healthcare settings (December 2024).
• General Optical Council Standard 15: Maintain appropriate boundaries with others Guidance on professional boundaries with patients, carers, students and colleagues.