Teresa Cope, the former boss of Manx Care, is taking charge of Guernsey’s Health & Social Care department (HSC). Local officials there say she is stepping into one of the island’s “most demanding public‑service jobs at a time of mounting pressure on frontline services”.
Cope will join the States of Guernsey in early August as interim Chief Officer for HSC, appointed for a 12‑month term. Her arrival marks the first major step in Chief Executive Boley Smillie’s overhaul of the civil service leadership structure, which will see chief officers once again aligned to Principal Committees in an effort to tighten accountability.
Smillie said HSC was his immediate priority, describing the department as “one of the largest and most complex parts of the public service” and stressing the need for experienced leadership. Cope, a qualified diagnostic radiographer who has held senior NHS roles before leading Manx Care, “understands the realities of delivering services in an island community”, he said.
Cope said she was “excited by the opportunity” to work with Guernsey’s HSC Committee and frontline teams, adding that she intends to “listen and learn” as she settles into the role. Her focus, she said, will be providing “strong and stable leadership during this important period”.
Over Budget
Cope’s stint at Manx Care was marked by constant financial turbulence and disputes, with the organisation repeatedly blowing past its budgets as costs spiralled and long‑promised efficiencies failed to materialise. Although Manx Care was new when she joined, Cope inherited a system already under strain. The critics argued she struggled to get a grip on runaway spending or deliver the stability politicians expected from the island’s new health provider. Workforce pressures, rising demand and legacy structural problems all collided on her watch, leaving Manx Care routinely overshooting its financial targets and forcing government to plug widening gaps.