Welcome to GOC Standard 12: Infection Prevention in Optical Practice

Welcome to this focused course on embedding clinical safety and hygiene into everyday optical care. Designed around the General Optical Council's Standard 12, this course helps optical teams translate infection prevention and control (IPC) into simple, consistent routines that protect patients and staff while keeping clinics running smoothly.

IPC in optics is practical and proportionate: visible, repeatable actions at the point of care prevent harm, build patient trust and support regulatory compliance. This course combines evidence-based principles with clinic-tested checklists, short audit approaches and guidance for real-world settings such as domiciliary visits, outreach and multi-site practice.

What You Will Learn

• Practical foundations of IPC for optical practice: sources and routes of infection, and how to break the chain of transmission.
• Standard Infection Control Precautions (SICPs) adapted to optics: when and how to apply hand hygiene, PPE, respiratory etiquette and aseptic/non-touch technique.
• Equipment cleaning and disinfection: tonometer prism workflows, slit-lamp and camera touch‑points, manufacturer considerations and safe product use (COSHH).
• Environmental cleaning and scheduling: between-patient resets, high‑touch area routines and spill response.
• Recognition and proportionate management of infectious eye disease (adenovirus, herpes, bacterial conjunctivitis) and clear escalation/red-flag criteria.
• Practical incident responses and documentation: immediate actions, reporting, occupational health and learning from near-misses.
• Domiciliary and outreach essentials: portable supplies, negotiating clean zones and safe transport/return procedures.
• Staff health and vaccinations: recommended vaccines, recording and reasonable workplace adjustments.
• Records, governance and simple measurement: succinct logs, one-page risk assessments, short audits and improvement cycles to sustain gains.
• Building an IPC culture: induction for locums/students, observed practice, blame‑aware reporting and rapid refresher training.

How This Course Will Help You

This course equips you to make IPC part of everyday optical practice rather than an add‑on. You will gain straightforward, actionable guidance to:

• Reduce cross‑infection risk through repeatable point‑of‑care actions.
• Standardise induction for varied staff groups (locums, students, domiciliary teams).
• Run short audits and improvement cycles that deliver quick, measurable improvements.
• Document proportionate decisions clearly and defensibly, meeting governance expectations.

This course supports practical compliance with GOC Standard 12 by turning clinical safety principles into clinic-ready checklists, short audits and simple records that teams can adopt immediately.

Who Should Take This Course

• Optometrists, dispensing staff, contact lens opticians, optical assistants and practice managers.
• Staff who work across multiple sites or in domiciliary/outreach settings.
• Anyone responsible for training, equipment purchasing, cleaning schedules or practice governance.

Course Format and Practical Tools

• Short, focused modules with clinic-relevant scenarios and incident examples.
• Ready-to-use checklists: hand hygiene, tonometer prism workflow, between‑patient resets, end‑of‑day and domiciliary packs.
• Templates for one‑page risk assessments, cleaning logs and incident records.
• Guidance on running two-week focused audits and documenting outcomes.

We're pleased you've chosen to prioritise infection prevention in your optical practice. By the end of this course you'll have clear, practical steps to protect patients and staff and to embed Standard 12 into everyday care.