Central Health has confirmed a recent privacy breach involving access to the health records of 20 people.

The health authority says it became aware of the privacy breach as the result of a regular auditing process.

Officials say an employee inappropriately accessed the health information of 20 patients who were outside their current circle of care. That employee is no longer working with Central Health.

All affected patients were notified and the breach has been reported to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner.

Since the breach in the summer of 2020, Central Health increased its internal auditing and implemented access restrictions to limit access to personal health information.