Optical regulator announces reappointment of Frank Munro and appointment of Raymond Curran and Cathy Yelf to its Council

The General Optical Council (GOC) has today announced the reappointment to its Council of Frank Munro as registrant member for a further four-year term. Raymond Curran and Cathy Yelf have been appointed as new registrant and lay members respectively. They were appointed by the Privy Council and their terms will begin on 1 April 2025.

Frank Munro is a practising optometrist in Glasgow and Lanarkshire, with a keen interest in optometric service development, the management of acute and emergency eyecare, chronic eye disease, low vision, myopia control and complex contact lens design. He qualified as a prescribing optometrist in 2011 and holds an NHS Education for Scotland glaucoma qualification. Frank has held various roles in professional and government bodies, including Chair of the UK optometric therapeutic steering group, President of the College of Optometrists, and Chair of the Scottish Committee of Optometrists. He is also co-founder of the Glasgow Integrated Eyecare Service, Lanarkshire Eye-health Network Service and of Optometry Scotland, where he also served as Chair.

He says:

“I am delighted to that the Privy Council has renewed my appointment to the GOC. This is an interesting period for the GOC with the new ETR undergraduate programmes coming through, the further development of post graduate training opportunities and the constantly changing eye health landscape across the UK. I look forward to working with colleagues over the next few years to help shape a smooth progression on all fronts.”

Raymond Curran is Head of Ophthalmic Services within the Strategic Planning and Performance Group of the Department of Health Northern Ireland. Trained as an optometrist in Birmingham and London, Raymond combined general ophthalmic services practice with sessional hospital positions in Western HSC Trust. In 1997 he was appointed Northern Ireland’s first (sessional) HSC Board ophthalmic adviser (Western) leading to his current substantive HSC appointment in 2013, where he is regional lead for contracting General Ophthalmic Services, and commissioning of secondary care Ophthalmology. Raymond is a former Councillor and Trustee of The College of Optometrists and former member of Senate, Ulster University.

He says:

“I feel proud and privileged to be appointed to GOC and look forward to working with Council and the wide stakeholder group in the coming years. It is an exciting time, in a fast-moving and sometimes divergent healthcare landscape, but I am confident that, together, we can navigate it safely and effectively, ensuring that Council both protects the public, and delivers on the ambitious commitments laid out in its strategic plan 2025-30”.

Cathy Yelf is a former CEO at the Macular Society, a leading UK vision charity that funds medical research and supports people affected by any form of macular disease. She is a trustee of the charity Action Against Age-related Macular Degeneration, a collaboration of charities aiming to stop early-stage macular disease from developing to the blinding form. Cathy has also served as a trustee of the Association of Medical Research Charities and has been a member of numerous NHS, NICE and industry committees, working groups and clinical trial steering committees. Before joining the third sector in 2008, Cathy was a senior journalist at the BBC where she spent more than 25 years in news and documentary making.

She says:

I am delighted and very honoured to be joining the GOC. Optical professions are critical to the eye health of our country. So much is changing in this important sector and I look forward to serving with the regulatory body to help maintain and improve standards of eye care.

Chair of Council Dr Anne Wright CBE says:

I am delighted to welcome both Raymond and Cathy to the Council and warmly welcome the reappointment of Frank Munro. Their skills and experience will help us continue our vital work of protecting the public by upholding high standards in the optical professions and ensuring safe and effective eyecare for all.

I would also like to thank departing Council members Mike Galvin, Clare Minchington, Roshni Samra, and Josie Forte for their outstanding contributions to the GOC.”