Melanie Turner

Melanie Turner is a child adolescent psychiatrist who also holds a range of positions including Deputy Chief Psychiatrist the Office of the Chief Psychiatrist of South Australia; Board Member the Medical board of South Australia; Board Director of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists and Presiding Member of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board in South Australia.

As well as an Applied Science and Medical university degrees Mel has completed a PhD in Perinatal Psychiatry at the University of Adelaide. She has also done further studies in health management and medical administration. Mel is published in peer review journals and teaches at the University of Adelaide and to trainee psychiatrists. She has previously won RANZCP awards for her research projects.

Mel's passion is providing the best care that is possible for patients every time. She runs her own multidisciplinary mental health practice seeing children and families. After years of visiting mental health teams around South Australia and working with psychiatrist colleagues across Australia it was clear to see they work so hard to decrease our suicide rate and provide crisis support with ever growing needs of the community.

Mel wants to try to find an approach and a system that works to lessen. Suicide leaves behind such grief for the community that if we were able to intervene and provide crisis mental health support to anybody, away from the requirement to attend an emergency department then we should really have a chance of making positive change.