Morgue, mould and privacy breach push NT health crisis to new levels

From the outside, Royal Darwin Hospital's (RDH) pathology building looks gloomy and dilapidated, with black stains running down its concrete exterior.

Inside, staff are left "physically sick" from the smell of decomposing bodies wafting from a nearby overflowing morgue.

This week, the Health Services Union (HSU) raised concerns about the workplace issue, saying some staff were unable to attend work because of the smell, with others describing the experience as "deeply distressing".

"When bodies arrive in the mortuary in an already decomposing state, that's when the impact is the worst," HSU SA/NT branch secretary Billy Elrick said this week.

Staff members enduring the smell are being provided with air fresheners and masks to deal with it, Mr Elrick said, noting the situation was unacceptable.

But concerns about the morgue are not the only health problems that have bubbled to the surface this week in the Territory.

Health Minister Steve Edgignton and his department have attempted to deal with a further three pressing issues, creating an overall wider health debacle the opposition has latched onto.

The HSU also said a long-term mould infestation at the Casuarina Plaza health facility was a risk to staff.

Despite "deep cleans" occurring at the facility in recent months, Mr Edgington said the mould had returned.

"The chief executive [of NT Health] needs to take action now and that includes looking at alternative premises [for staff to work in]," Mr Edgington said on Wednesday.

The HSU also claimed NT Health had been ignoring warnings about the mould at Alice Springs Hospital.

Mr Edgington said he had only become aware of the mould infestation at Alice Springs Hospital on Tuesday, despite the HSU saying staff had made repeated complaints.

The minister also played catch-up over the alleged assaults of six staff members at Katherine Hospital's emergency department on Sunday.

The staff were allegedly punched, kicked and bitten, with Mr Edington saying he was unaware of the incident until Wednesday, which he put down to delayed reports to police.

"We take a zero-tolerance approach to all assaults on staff and it's just not good enough when people are on the front line … being assaulted in the workplace," he told Mix Radio.

The biggest blunder of the week from NT Health was arguably its handling of a privacy breach which occurred earlier this month at RDH, affecting a string of pregnant women.

On Monday, NT Health said only five women had been impacted and contacted, despite the ABC already identifying 12 over the weekend.

It later acknowledged the number was 12, saying it had to engage "specialist ICT assistance to unlock files" detailing the evidence.

It meant some of the women affected by the data breach only found out about it after being contacted by the ABC, with some saying it had left them feeling "furious", afraid and distressed.

Mr Edgington held a press conference on Wednesday to offer a "heartfelt apology" to the women, saying the matter had been referred to the police and NT information commissioner.

He said NT Health had been on "the front foot" in dealing with the privacy breach, saying it had "been conducting a thorough investigation".

One of the women affected said the minister misunderstood the "meaning of being on the front foot".

By Thursday, Opposition Leader Selena Uibo was calling on Mr Edgington to stand down over his handling of this week's issues.

Ms Uibo also pointed to other examples of "mismanagement and incompetence" by Mr Edgington throughout the past two years, including the NT government's response to a diphtheria outbreak.

Mr Edgington responded on social media, saying Ms Uibo was a "failed health minister" in the former Territory Labor government.

Despite Labor's chequered history on health, the opposition is likely to make it its number one issue between now and the 2028 NT election.

The party has indicated in recent months it will promise a new hospital for Darwin, with Shadow Minister Chansey Paech suggesting Berrimah Barracks as the best location.

Despite a lack of enthusiasm from the federal government to fund it and the NT's record debt level, Labor says it is likely to push ahead with a new hospital plan.

The CLP's horror week dealing with health may have given the opposition a springboard to begin building that campaign.