MINISTER FOR HEALTH Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and the HSE have issued a formal public apology to the family of Bryonny Sainsbury.

25-year-old Bryonny was crushed by her horse while assisting with a veterinary procedure in August 2021 and died five days later.

The accident happened at a riding stable in Co Longford.

Bryonny was initially treated at the Midlands Regional Hospital in Mullingar. Her family told the High Court how they had “pleaded” to have her transferred for specialist treatment for head injuries at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin. 

A neurosurgeon at Beaumont later told an inquest into her death that Bryonny’s condition was treatable but that he had been “powerless to act” because of lack of communiction from staff at Mullingar. 

He said that had he seen CAT scans of her brain taken in Mullingar he would have requested a transfer. 

Bryonny was eventually transferred to the Dublin hospital, where she was later pronounced dead. 

In a statement today, Carroll MacNeill and HSE CEO Bernard Gloster have apologised unreservedly and said “the health system failed both Bryonny and her family”.

They met Bryonny’s family where they heard about the “profound distress” the Sainsburys’ experienced “not only during Bryonny’s time in our care, but also throughout the lengthy review and legal processes that followed”.

“It is clear that the communication, support, and respect they needed and deserved were not provided. This was unacceptable.”

Carroll MacNeill said: “The Sainsbury family may never know how many lives will be saved or improved through their advocacy and sharing their most painful of experiences.”

“This is the poignant but enduring legacy of their beloved Bryonny”, she continued.

Carroll MacNeill reaffirmed their “collective commitment to improve the culture in our health services”.

“There is no space in our health services for not listening to families, for not treating patients and families with respect and compassion, for not communicating openly and honestly”, she concluded. 

Gloster said the HSE are “fully committed to driving the cultural and systemwide changes required to ensure that no other family endures what the Sainsbury family has been through”.

“We hope that today’s apology, together with the publication of the review, offers some measure of acknowledgement and support as the Sainsbury family continue to live with the loss of Bryonny.”

The inquest into Bryonny’s death recorded a verdict of medical misadventure.

Midlands Regional Hospital unreservedly apologised to the Sainsbury family for failures in care back in January.