Associate Professor Melanie Turner, Churchill Fellow

In her private role supporting the care of people experiencing of distress, and her public role inspecting and visiting mental health services as Deputy Chief Psychiatrist, Office of the Chief Psychiatrist South Australia, Associate Professor Melanie Turner wanted to explore solutions to address acute suicidal distress – in ways that were meaningful to a person before their life became unbearable.

Associate Professor Turner had the opportunity to research health systems around the world which assist people who are in the peak of crisis during a six-week Churchill Fellowship. She also reviewed current research in suicide and crisis interventions, particularly those approaches which did not require attending an emergency department.

Her resulting 65-page report A Continuum of Crisis Care for Those in Mental Health Distress and at Risk of Suicide makes six key recommendations.

‘As identified in the centres that I visited on my Churchill Fellowship, the collective view was the there is a need for a true ‘continuum’ of crisis care. When each person is able to identify that they are in a crisis – which is not defined by the service – they can then engage in what they need for their crisis,’ Dr Turner found.

Associate Professor Turner is grateful for the time to explore those options and is hopeful her report will inform the structure and function of future crisis mental health centres and the use of a continuum of crisis care in SA.

Associate Professor 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.