An internal investigation found inappropriate access to patient electronic health records at Red Deer Regional Hospital over a six-month period, Alberta Health Services said Friday in a news release.

A total of 2,158 patient records were accessed between December 2018 and May 2019. The breach was discovered during a routine audit in April, and an investigation followed.

The records were in the Alberta Public Laboratories clinical lab at the hospital, and most belonged to emergency patients.

Thirty staff were reportedly involved in the breach and three are no longer employed by the lab.

There is no evidence the information has been used inappropriately, AHS said.

Affected individuals were mailed notifications on Thursday and a call line has been set up through Health Link to address any questions.

"APL takes the privacy and confidentiality of patient information seriously, and non-work-related access to patient records is a serious breach of confidentiality and a direct violation of APL privacy and information security policies," CEO Craig Ivany said in the news release.