The formation of Manx Care - the body tasked with delivering health and care services across the Isle of Man - has taken a significant step forward with the appointment of its first Chief Executive Officer.
Teresa Cope will take up the role as hands-on CEO from 1 December 2020, her appointment following that of Andrew Foster CBE as Chair of the Manx Care Board last month.
The creation of a new, stand-alone organisation focused on the delivery of sustainable services was a key recommendation of Sir Jonathan Michael’s landmark review of health and care services.
Manx Care has been designed to operate at arms-length from the Department of Health and Social Care, which will remain responsible for setting policy and strategy. The new body will operate in shadow form from next January and is due to go live in April 2021, marking the start of a new era in the provision of integrated, responsive and efficient health and care services for the Island’s population.
Teresa Cope, who has a 30 year career in healthcare, was appointed following an extensive recruitment exercise which attracted a substantial field of applicants. Ms Cope has a clinical background, starting as a radiographer and going on to lecture in the discipline at undergraduate and postgraduate level. She subsequently moved into management and has held Director level positions at health trusts in the UK for the past eight years, spanning acute hospitals, mental health, community and primary care services. She will step down from her role as Chief Operating Officer at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to join Manx Care.
Minister for Health and Social Care David Ashford said:
‘In Teresa we have found a professional with the skills to lead a ground-breaking organisation and the determination to make it a success.
‘Our aspirations for improved health and care services are invested in Manx Care, so it needs a leader ready to take on a substantial challenge. The CEO will be in day-to-day charge of Manx Care as the new era begins, and I know Teresa is looking forward to being in the thick of it, leading from the front and engaging with our committed staff. We have high expectations, but I am confident Teresa’s fresh, energetic approach will bring the change and improvement we all want.’
Teresa Cope said:
‘I am delighted and hugely privileged to have been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer for Manx Care and look forward to moving to the Isle of Man in the New Year. I am looking forward to meeting staff colleagues, partner organisations and the wider community and continuing to take forward Sir Jonathan Michael’s recommendations to deliver the highest quality, sustainable health and care services for the population.’
Manx Care will operate as the prime contractor for the DHSC, receiving a mandate from the department to deliver a range of health and care services, either directly itself or by commissioning external providers. It is a new model for health and care delivery in the Island, which aims to meet the recommendations of the Michael review, unanimously endorsed by Tynwald in 2019.
The new Chair of Manx Care has taken up his role, preparing to lead the organisation through an historic reform, and has welcomed the appointment of Manx Care’s inaugural CEO.
Andrew Foster said:
‘I would like to offer a very warm welcome to Teresa and I look forward to working alongside her to deliver improvements in health services and social care to the Isle of Man. Teresa has a track record as a dynamic and inclusive leader, and her experience in leading service-wide improvement programmes across a number of organisations will be invaluable to us. Her style is collaborative, and alongside her responsibilities as CEO, Teresa is determined to remain grounded and to listen to and learn from service users, their families, our workforce and partner organisations.’
He added:
‘I know that she and her family are looking forward to relocating to the Island once the situation allows and to becoming part of the Island community.’
