Melissa Davey

Melissa Davey is a Health Reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.

Depression worsens risk of accidents for young drivers

Melissa Davey, Philip Ly The young drivers most at risk of crashing have higher rates of depression and anxiety than their peers and are being largely overlooked by road education programs, research shows.

Common playground illness has its lethal side

Caileen Cachia


Child's death linked to EV71 virus

Melissa Davey and Julie Milland An aggressive strain of a common virus that has killed three NSW children aged under two since December could be responsible for a fourth death.

Vaccinate your children or declare why not, parents told


Melissa Davey Unvaccinated children will be banned from childcare facilities, and centres who do enrol them will face fines, after changes to the Public Health Act passed through cabinet Monday night.

Boy, 7, dies after falling from pogo stick

Melissa Davey A seven-year-old Sydney boy has died a day after he apparently fell from a pogo stick.

'I just froze': Taylah, 12, recounts having a gun held to her head

Melissa Davey A 12-year-old girl says she "froze" when a man held a gun to her head and robbed her of her phone and wallet as she walked back from a friend's house in Sydney's southwest.

Student, 19, dies after swerving to miss dead kangaroo

Melissa Davey A 19-year-old woman from Kirrawee died on Monday night after a swerving to avoid a dead kangaroo on the road, say police.

Hairdresser accused of another sexual assault

Melissa Davey Another woman has come forward to report an alleged indecent assault at the hands of a Merrylands hairdresser.

Sydney girl, 12, robbed at gunpoint


Melissa Davey A 12-year-old girl has been robbed at gunpoint in Sydney's southwest.

Getting close to the edge of a cliff


Melissa Davey Two Sydney restaurateurs who took their lives in an apparent suicide pact had likely been building up to the decision for some time, according to professor of youth mental health at the University of...

Two teenage girls missing since Friday, police appeal for help


Melissa Davey Police are appealing to the public for help to find two teenage girls who were reported missing in separate incidents.

Hunt for money-grabbing conman John Cash

Melissa Davey He is a seemingly affable inner-Sydney tradesman who promises to complete home building and maintenance work at low prices.

27 child sex charges: man in court over historic offences

Melissa Davey A 52-year-old man has been charged with 27 historical child sexual assault offences spanning more than a decade.

Funding shortfall endangers eye program



Mixing up superglue for eye drops a common error


Melissa Davey Margaret Kimpton, 73, who was taken to Liverpool Hospital on Wednesday after mistaking superglue for eye drops, is one of hundreds in NSW who have made the same mistake.

Sticky eyes: mistaking glue for eye drops a common error

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Melissa Davey It's a common - and dangerous - case of mistaken identity. More than 900 people from NSW have used superglue in their eye instead of eye drops, a review of calls to the NSW Poisons Information Centre...

Violence mars two birthday parties



Man stabbed with screwdriver after group gatecrashes house party

Melissa Davey A man was stabbed in the eye with a screwdriver, while a teenager was punched in the face and had a glass bottle thrown at his head during two separate gatecrashing incidents overnight.

Parents say surfer tried to help girl

Melissa Davey The parents of a man swept away by a wave at North Curl Curl on Saturday have denied claims he was ''chain surfing'' at the time he went missing and say he was attempting to rescue a 15-year-old girl.

House fire death follows fight, trip to hospital


Melissa Davey A man has died in a house fire just hours after returning home from hospital.