Diving
Dr Turner joined the Royal Navy as a Medical Officer in 1988 and worked initially at the Institute of Naval Medicine in the Underwater Medicine Division. This involved teaching, treating decompression illness in the chamber, supervising experimental diving and writing books of reference on diving medicine. He then moved to HMS Dolphin where he trained as a Submarine Escape Instructor and trained as a Ship’s Diving Officer. In 1993 he volunteered for, and completed a submarine escape in Loch Fyne Scotland from a depth of 300 feet.
After training in Cardiology he continued his interest in diving medicine by treating patients with patent foramen ovale (PFO). He has been a member of the UK Sports Diving Medical Committee, and was recently appointed as Vice Chair. He is a Medical Referee and an Approved Medical Examiner for Divers (AMED) for the Health and Safety Executive.
Areas of particular interest include:
Assessing divers after decompression illness to identify the cause, most
commonly PFO*
Helping divers to regain medical fitness with arrhythmias, such as atrial
fibrillation, heart valve disease, after heart attack, bypass surgery, coronary
stents and pacemaker implantation
Investigating breathlessness during diving
Performing HSE and Amateur Diving Medicals for those with heart and lung
problems problems
*This work is undertaken within NICE Guidelines, which indicate that divers should be advised by those with experience in assessing divers with PFO-related decompression illness. Dr Turner has undertaken more than 60 PFO closures in divers.
We believe that there are currently only two cardiologists who are UK
Sports Diving Medical Referrees, and Dr Turner is the only Cardiologist listed
as an Approved Medical Examiner for Divers for the Health and Safety
Executive.