A New South Wales ambulance staff member is responsible for leaking an image of a shark bite victim’s injuries from inside the hospital, the state’s health department has revealed.
NSW Ambulance said in a statement on Thursday afternoon it had apologised to the family of Lauren O’Neill over the incident.
“We believe a NSW Ambulance staff member was responsible for the breach of her privacy,” a spokesperson said.
O’Neill, who is in her late 20s, was bitten on the leg by a suspected bull shark in Elizabeth Bay at around sunset on Monday. She dragged herself out of the water, and a vet and her neighbours came to her aid before paramedics rushed her to hospital for surgery.
“NSW Ambulance sincerely apologises to Ms O’Neill for the breach of her privacy and the additional distress it has caused her and her loved ones at this most difficult time,” the spokesperson said.
“NSW Ambulance takes its patient privacy obligations very seriously and is continuing to investigate this breach to determine the full details of the incident.”
It came after NSW police and St Vincent’s hospital said they had both launched their own investigations.
Late Wednesday night St Vincent’s hospital said it had “become of aware of photos in the public domain that appear to have been taken in the Emergency Department and are related to those of a patient injury”.
The NSW Department of Primary Industries also said it received and examined six images provided by NSW police to identify the species of shark responsible for the injury.
“The images are stored securely and have not been shared by departmental scientists with anyone apart from the few select specialists required to examine the images to determine the species of shark responsible for the attack,” a spokesperson for the department said.
The state’s agriculture minister, Tara Moriarty, said it was “extremely disappointing that the privacy of this young woman has been breached”.
“I would like to thank our scientists in the Department of Primary Industries for their work in determining the species of shark and assisting emergency services during the incident,” Moriarty said.
“They are respected around the world for their research and work hard every day to keep our coastline safe as possible for people enjoying our waterways,” she said.
St Vincent’s hospital said it “takes patient privacy obligations extremely seriously” and was investigating the issue as a matter of priority.
“We have engaged with the patient and we have sincerely apologised for any part St Vincent’s played in the photos being taken,” the hospital said.
