How many pregnant patients were affected by the Royal Darwin Hospital privacy breach?

The Northern Territory health department revised the number from five to 12 patients after further investigation identified seven additional people affected.

How were affected patients notified about the breach?

NT Health said it was contacting patients to explain what happened, apologise and offer support. However, four women told the ABC they had not been informed by the hospital when contacted about two weeks after the incident.

What action has been taken following the hospital data breach?

The content was removed, and the medical observer was no longer associated with NT Health. The international medical observer programme was suspended, and the matter was referred to the Public Information Commissioner and Police Commissioner.

What safeguards have been proposed for medical observers?

Proposed measures include stronger background checks, revised placement agreements requiring confidentiality commitments and improved induction processes covering privacy obligations.

Pregnant Women's Private Medical Details Shared With Thousands on Instagram as Hospital Admits Wider Breach

Q: What patient information was reportedly shared on Instagram?

The posts reportedly included patients\' names, hospital identification numbers, ward and bed details, medical histories, presenting conditions, investigations and treatment plans. A video also captured a staff meeting in which professionals discussed a patient\'s care.

Confidential medical information belonging to 12 pregnant patients at an Australian hospital was shared in Instagram posts seen by an account audience of around 28,000 followers, prompting concerns about patient privacy and the handling of sensitive health records.

Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH) in Australia's Northern Territory initially said five patients had been affected by the breach. However, the health department revised that figure on 28 October after further investigation identified seven additional patients.

The incident involved photos and videos posted to an Instagram account associated with Neda Mogharehabed, an overseas-trained doctor who was at the hospital as a medical observer from 12 to 14 October. The posts reportedly showed documents containing patients' names, hospital identification numbers, ward and bed details, medical histories, presenting conditions, investigations and treatment plans.

The material also included a video of a staff meeting in which health professionals could be heard discussing a patient's care, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

Patients Say They Were Not Informed Promptly

The breach has raised further concerns about how affected patients were notified. After the ABC contacted women whose details appeared in the posts, four reportedly said they had not been informed by the hospital, despite the incident having occurred more than two weeks earlier.

One affected mother told the broadcaster she was furious that she had learnt about the breach through a journalist rather than directly from the health department. Another said the disclosure had created fear and uncertainty during the early days with her newborn.

The exposed information was particularly sensitive, covering intimate aspects of patients' lives, including previous pregnancies, reproductive health, sexually transmitted infections, mental health and experiences of domestic violence.

Shanelle Tobin, an ABC Darwin producer who was among those affected, said she felt violated after realising the posts had reached thousands of followers.

'We're talking about the most intimate details of a person's life,' she said.

'Everything from domestic violence detail to sexually transmitted infection detail, to former terminations.

'There's a lot of vulnerable people out there and some of that information is so sensitive that it could do real damage to them.'

In a statement to the ABC, Mogharehabed said she 'cannot confirm how these images were posted' and that she took 'patient privacy seriously'. She also said she had not intended to disclose personal medical information.

NT Health said the content had been removed and Mogharehabed was no longer associated with the department.

Hospital Responds to Wider Breach

The revised patient count followed additional technical assistance that allowed investigators to access files they had previously been unable to open. Fiona Renshaw, NT Health's deputy chief executive of regional health services, said the department was contacting the newly identified patients to explain what happened, apologise and offer support.

The incident has also prompted questions about the safeguards governing medical observers and their access to clinical settings. Health Minister Steve Edgington announced on 28 October that the international medical observer programme had been suspended while the incident was investigated.

The government also referred the matter to the Public Information Commissioner and Police Commissioner to determine whether any criminal offences had occurred. The government has said it will strengthen background checks, revise placement agreements to include legally binding confidentiality requirements, and improve induction processes so participants understand their privacy obligations.