Emma Davidson said she is 'upset' about breaches in emotional Assembly response

Ms Davidson said there were no words to express how upset she was when she first heard about the alleged breaches, which affected 13 patients at the Dhulwa mental health unit.

"When I was asked what my thoughts and feelings were when I heard about this breach of patient privacy was that it broke my heart to think about the impact this has had on patients and their families," she said.

"I think it would be safe to say that there are no words suitable to express how upset I am about what has been done to patients and their families by people who were entrusted with their care.

"This matter is taken extremely seriously throughout ACT government. It is very, very important that external investigators are able to do their job without political commentary."

Canberra Health Services has alleged staff from Dhulwa were behind a leak of patient records to the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation over a period of years.

One nurse has been sacked over the breaches and another two have been stood down, pending investigations.

The federation has argued the disclosures were lawful, with ACT branch secretary Matthew Daniel saying the union had a long standing relationship with Canberra Health Services around the lawful disclosure of personal information when nurses and midwives had specific concerns about patient safety.

Ms Davidson faced a motion of no confidence on Tuesday over her response to the alleged breaches. The motion was unsuccessful.

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Ms Davidson was asked in question time to respond to a statement from Carers ACT, released on Wednesday, which expressed deep concern with the alleged breaches.

"We firmly believe that trust in health professionals to respect privacy and dignity is central to the commitment to treatment and recovery in the mental health sector and sharing of confidential patient files without knowledge or consent is unacceptable," a statement said.

"It goes against our expectations of ethical, empathetic and caring behaviour."

The peak body for carers said it was seeking a meeting with Ms Davidson and Canberra Health Services chief executive Dave Peffer about the alleged breaches.

Ms Davidson told the Assembly a meeting had been scheduled.

The opposition queried why the Minister for Mental Health about a range of elements from the Carers ACT statement, including a claim from the body that their concerns had been ignored in the lead-up to the incidents.

Ms Davidson did not directly answer a number of questions but made reference to last year's Dhulwa inquiry where she said Carers ACT had made a submission.

The independent inquiry found the standard of care at the facility was well below expectations, patient and treatment procedures were unclear and dysfunction among staff contributed to a toxic work culture.

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