Guernsey’s Health and Social Care department has said lessons have been learned following a coroner’s damning verdict over the death of a teenager killed by a Guernseyman transferred to the same UK care facility as her.
Following the coroner’s verdict, HSC said they were “committed to continuous improvements to ensure higher standards of safety”.
Ms Mathieson (pictured top, right) was just 18 years old when she was killed by Jason Conroy (top, left), a fellow resident at UK-based Alexandra Homes in 2014.
Following the recent inquest into her death, it was found that, with Conroy’s history of violence against women, more should have been done to protect the home’s female residents.
The States of Guernsey was one of the parties found to have been at fault due to their failure to act when concerns were raised, and for allowing Conroy to be placed at the UK home without the necessary security measures.
As well as blasting Alexandra Homes for “welcom[ing] a known sexual predator into their care home with no risk management plan, at the same time as admitting a young woman who matched his known victim profile”, solicitors representing Ms Mathieson’s family were critical of the States of Guernsey, describing their handling of Mr Conroy’s transfer to Alexandra Homes “woeful”.
Now Guernsey’s Health and Social Care have released a statement offering their condolences and voicing their commitment to improvement.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Melissa Mathieson, whose life was tragically taken in 2014,” a spokesperson for HSC said.
They continued: “HSC has fully cooperated with, and attended, the inquest. We accept the coroner’s findings and want to assure the community we take our responsibility seriously.”
Their statement concluded: “HSC at the time took immediate action to improve the way off-island placements are managed.
“Since then, we have implemented the relevant learnings and been committed to continuous improvements to ensure higher standards of safety, with appropriate oversight and supervision, for those children and young adults, with complex needs, who require specialist off-island care.”