Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the college of optometrists (specifically regarding the scheme for registration) have been quiet, frustratingly slow and ineffective or unable to make meaningful changes to the scheme for registration.

The council of the GPhC agreed a policy to provisionally register pharmacists as a response to the pandemic on the 21st May 2020, with final exams to be sat retrospectively. Cambridge university, in consultation with the GMC, cancelled their final clinical examinations having already assessed the cohort through written final exams and during multiple placements. This proves that reasonable changes can be made responsibly with fairness and with pace.

Stage 1 visits were among one of the first thing to cease on the 17th March 2020. Following commencement of amber phase restrictions in practice on the 15th June, with full PPE in place, stage 1 assessments did not resume until 27th July 2020. Any information on modifications to stage 2 assessments were not given until August. Stage 2 assessments did not begin until 11th September 2020. No additional OSCEs were organised. OSCE exam dates have now been dramatically reduced.

Those pre-registration optometrists, enrolled in July 2019, awaiting OSCEs have been on the scheme for registration for up to 19 months. When results for the March OSCEs are published, this would be 22 months. We have built, during our pre-registration period, much more experience than we would by the time of OSCE assessment under normal circumstances. This has been done under supervision and with the extreme new challenges that COVID-19 and the amber phase have dealt. We do not believe that fourteen 5-minute station exams that test an incredibly small sample of what we do in daily practice, should be the method or ‘gateway’ to registration at this time.

The psychological toll put on us by our educational and regulatory bodies has been unfair. We have been revising and preparing for OSCE exams since September. We have been expected to work at the pace and with the skill of our qualified colleagues, on the frontline of primary care since July. The stress and damage to our mental health during this time cannot be underestimated.

We now find the recent news of further delay to be unacceptable and ask that an alternative (temporary) route to registration is immediately requested and quickly enacted. Many of us have good, practical suggestions and would appreciate genuine, open conversation.