A Saint John woman is upset her mammogram results were delivered to her home in an unsealed envelope, along with the test results of a stranger.

Jessie O’Brien said she felt “almost invaded” when she found the envelope in her mailbox on Thursday.

"When you go to a hospital to have your tests done, and your medical exams and things, you don't expect everybody on the street to be able to read it,” she said.

“You expect it to be between yourself and the hospital. And this isn't the case, this isn't what happened here.”

It’s frightening, said O’Brien.

"To think that something like this could happen. How many ... you know, what else could happen if this is what happened to me? How many other times has it happened and not been caught."

O'Brien called the hospital about the error and was transferred to a mailroom supervisor who told her there could have been a problem with one of the machines that handles the mail.

A spokesperson for FacilicorpNB — the group that handles the mail — said it's still investigating, but that it appears to be an isolated incident.

O’Brien said she was asked to drop the other woman's results off at the hospital. But worried that a mistake could happen again, she took the initiative to track the woman down herself.

"She could be sitting there for months waiting for the results to come back from her test, worrying whether or not there was something seriously wrong with her,” she said.

Company scrutiny

FacilicorpNB, which handles non-medical business operations for New Brunswick hospitals, had already been under scrutiny by the Alward government. This recent incident won't help matters.

The company was a creation of Shawn Graham's Liberal government, created by former Liberal Health Minister Mike Murphy who created it during healthcare changes in 2008 when the province's eight health regions were combined into two.

When Finance Minister Blaine Higgs conducted his pre-budget tour in January, Facilicorp and its staff were openly mentioned as a good place to make cuts.

"Those employees were always looked after under the hospital corporation. Perhaps you could save yourself some money should you put them back there," said one member of the audience during Higgs' tour.

"You're absolutely right. Facilicorp is an area that we are looking at," Higgs replied.

"We have a $1.4 billion spend throughout government services," Higgs said.

"Facilicorp, which is a health portion of buying in the health sector is about another $500 to $600 million to spend. We believe there is at least in this world a $70 million benefit to an improved program of buying, negotiating and getting better deals."

On its website, Facilicorp claims it saved New Brunswick's health-care system $23 million during its first two years.