SOC Neutrality Statement

The Scottish Ophthalmology Club (SOC) is a professional organisation which represents a community of medically qualified eye doctors in Scotland.

The aim of the SOC is to promote research, educate and develop Ophthalmology in Scotland. We organise bi-annual meetings; which seek to encourage collaboration, training and networking between our Scottish eye centres. The meetings are designed to be inclusive to the administrators, nurses, optometrists, orthoptists and students who together form our teams.

We are guided by our national professional body the Royal College of Ophthalmology (RCOphth) and our regulator, the General Medical Council (GMC). We support the 2024 RCOphth statements of institutional neutrality on geopolitical issues and code of practice for campaigning for elected office. Medico-legally we follow the GMC 2024 statement on Doctors’ activism, patient trust in the profession and the principles of Good Medical Practice.

Together, the guidance above has been discussed at the SOC council. To maintain focus on our educational, scientific aim;

1. We do not issue public statements on active or past political, humanitarian or social conflicts.

2. We do not promote or advertise individuals or politicians who are canvassing for election to collegiate or political office.

3. We do not advertise individual undergraduate or postgraduate research projects to our membership.

We have reflected the position adopted by the RCOphth for the following reasons;

a) Our core educational and scientific purpose

b) The ethic, religious, cultural diversity of our membership. We wish to promote inclusion and cohesion in the Scottish eye community.

c) Our credibility as a neutral, apolitical organisation. We cannot maintain trust if we are seen to favour certain individuals, one research project over another or selected political events.

d) Practical and legal requirements. As a small voluntary council we are not resourced to research and respond to every international or political event. We cannot vet every request for data collection research projects to our membership.

References 

Royal College of Ophthalmology. July 2025. Our position on institutional neutrality. Accessed on 10.12.25 https://www.rcophth.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/250729-Our-position-on-institutional-neutrality.pdf

Royal College of Ophthalmology. July 2025. Canvassing code of practice. Accessed on 10.12.25 https://www.rcophth.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Canvassing-code-of-practice-July-2025-v2.pdf https://www.gmc-uk.org/news/news-archive/doctors-taking-part-in-protests

General Medical Council. July 2024. Doctors taking part in protests or other forms of activism. Accessed on 10.12.25 Doctors taking part in protests or other forms of activism - GMC

General Medical Council. Dec 2024. Good practice in research summary. Managing conflicts of interest: 30 & Annex B: National guidance on addressing conflicts of interest in research. Accessed on 10.12.25 Good practice in research - GMC