NT womens' breasts removed unnecessarily

A Northern Territory doctor wasn't sacked or reprimanded after misdiagnosing two women with cancer who had their breasts removed unnecessarily.

A 60-year-old woman in Darwin and a 25-year-old breastfeeding mother in Alice Springs both had mastectomy surgeries after being misdiagnosed by the same pathologist three years ago, the ABC has revealed.

Professor John Skinner later identified the errors himself and reported it to Royal Darwin Hospital, but continued to work there for several months before his retirement.

Dr Charles Pain, executive director of medical services at Top End Health Service (TEHS) which oversees the Territory's hospitals, defended the decision to keep the senior pathologist employed.

"If someone makes a mistake we don't always fire them. If we did that we wouldn't have any staff," he said on Tuesday.

The hospital investigated Prof Skinner's previous reporting but found no other errors.

"It's very unusual to make two mistakes of that kind. (But) there was no reason to think he would be a danger to patients," Dr Pain said.

At the time, TEHS ordered all breast biopsies be sent interstate for testing until the results of a review by the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia were known.

It has since introduced a double checking mechanism ensuring two pathologists examine the same biopsy.

While the 60-year-old patient has been compensated by the hospital, the young mother is still in compensation negotiations over the 2013 mistake.

Prof Skinner told ABC's 7.30 he had deep regrets and was "embarrassed and upset" about the ordeal.

The NT health sector has been dogged by multiple workplace bullying claims in the past few years and TEHS chief operating officer Michael Kalimnios admitted there was difficulty retaining staff.

Mr Kalimnios said the organisation was addressing workplace culture to ensure staff could report concerns about patient safety without fear of retribution.

"We don't have a systematic problem with bullying... but that doesn't say there aren't issues that we need to deal with in individual cases," he said.

Health Minister Natasha Fyles acknowledged the distress caused by the "tragic errors" and admitted the medical system faced huge challenges.

Ms Fyles flagged issues with stretched staffing levels and intimidation.

"We've all heard of incidents that are concerning. We need to make sure that staff feel comfortable speaking out," she said.