NT Health Minister Natasha Fyles has defended her department against grim claims, despite not finishing reading the report that made them.

A coronial finding handed down this week found that inaction by health authorities contributed to the deaths of three young people in remote Indigenous communities.

It said the Top End Health Service (TEHS) is failing to comply with recommendations from two previous inquests, and that their “refusal or inability” to do so contributed to the deaths.

Hours after the report was released this week, Ms Fyles’ office put out a statement pledging to act on “every recommendation”.

When she was asked about the matter in person, Ms Fyles acknowledged she had not read the 59-page document in full.

“I haven't read the entire report; I have had a chance to look at it,” she said, accusing those who question whether she should have read the full report of being “unfair”.

The coronial report made reference to the “indifference” to the plight of the young people from government agencies overseeing their care. It also said there had been a distressing lack of action on recommendations made in previous inquests into petrol-sniffing deaths.

Coroner Greg Cavanagh said Ms Fyles wrote to him after the previous inquest, claiming that the Department of Health would take the “necessary steps” to implement the recommendations.

“Unfortunately, those 'necessary steps' were, in fact, not taken,” he said.

“It is tragic and frustrating that almost all of the issues and comments three years ago are equally applicable to these cases.”

Ms Fyles now denies that those previous findings were about the health system she manages, blaming individuals instead.

“What you had was individual decision making, which is no excuse for it, but it explains [it] to Territorians,” she said.