GOC appoints new hearings panel members

The General Optical Council (GOC) has appointed four new hearings panel members, who will decide the outcomes of fitness to practise hearings.

Optometrist Dr Amit Jinabhai has joined the impartial and independent panel as well as new lay members Julia Wortley, Kathryn King and Caroline Corby.

Director of fitness practise at the GOC, Lisa Davis, said: “We are pleased to welcome these new members to the committee as they each bring valuable skills and insight from their diverse experiences. Their wide expertise will be beneficial in maintaining and demonstrating good practice and fairness at hearings.”

Dr Jinabhai currently works as a senior lecturer for the University of Manchester. In 2012, he was awarded the College of Optometrists’ George Giles prize for outstanding postgraduate research.

Ms Wortley has worked as a superintendent for nine years in the Metropolitan Police Service’s professional standards department where she investigated public complaints.

Ms King has experience as an ombudsman and administrative justice professional. She has experience of determining complex cases at three national ombudsman schemes, including as chief legal ombudsman for England and Wales.

Ms Corby will step down as chair of the GOC’s investigation committee to serve on the hearings panel. She is also non-executive director of the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service, the Criminal Cases Review Commission, One Housing and JML.