A NEW £3m research centre has been launched to tackle long-standing health inequalities faced by women in Wales.

The Women’s Health Research Centre – the first of its kind in Wales – aims to close the historic gender health gap by strengthening investment in women’s health research and improving representation in clinical trials.

The centre was launched to mark the first anniversary of the Women’s Health Plan for Wales, with First Minister Eluned Morgan and Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing Sarah Murphy visiting staff, researchers and community partners involved in the project.

Led by Women’s Health Research Wales, the centre brings together researchers, NHS organisations, industry, policymakers and communities to develop more effective treatments and ensure health services meet women’s needs throughout their lives.

Its work will cover prevention, early-onset conditions, rare diseases and care for under-served communities.

Projects currently in development include research into symptom-reporting tools to improve the management of conditions such as diabetes, heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – areas where the specific impact on women has historically been under-researched.

Researchers are also examining the potential health effects of chemicals used in menstrual products, how best to support young people to stay active during periods, and improved care pathways for people with polycystic ovary syndrome to reduce the risk of developing diabetes and heart disease later in life.

Other projects focus on fertility, including a decision-making tool for women with kidney disease who are considering having children.

One study is working directly with women undergoing fertility treatment to understand why the process can lead to mental health conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, with the aim of producing guidance to support trauma-informed fertility care.

First Minister Eluned Morgan said: “I am passionate about improving women’s healthcare. To do that, we must invest in research to gather the evidence we need.

“I am delighted to see how the Welsh Government’s £3m investment, through Health and Care Research Wales, is supporting research based on the experiences of women. This will result in better care and better health outcomes for women.

“This innovative new research centre is a key part of the Women’s Health Plan and will help us better understand women’s experiences. It will lead to more effective treatments and ensure our health service delivers improved outcomes for women in Wales.”

Sarah Murphy, Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing, said the early progress had been encouraging.

“I’m thrilled the investment we’ve made in this research centre is already delivering projects in such important and under-researched areas of women’s health,” she said.

“The pioneering work I’ve heard about today – including the impact of infertility on women’s mental health – is exactly what we want the Women’s Health Plan to influence and deliver.

“All of this has been achieved in the first 12 months, and I look forward to seeing what can be delivered over the next year.”

Debbie Shaffer, founder and director of Fair Treatment for the Women of Wales and chair of the Women’s Health Wales Coalition, said partnership working would be key to success.

“Research into health issues experienced by women throughout the life course is vital,” she said.

“By working co-productively, in partnership with women and communities, we have a real opportunity to reduce health inequalities and improve treatment options and support.

“We look forward to helping create more opportunities for people with lived experience – whose voices may not have been heard before – to get involved.”

The Women’s Health Plan for Wales was published in December 2024 and sets out a 10-year approach to improving health outcomes for women, ensuring they are listened to and their health needs properly understood.

THE WELSH Government has escalated intervention at Aneurin Bevan University Health Board to one step short of special measures, amid concerns about an £18m deficit and A&E failures.

Jeremy Miles, Wales’ health secretary, announced the Gwent health board will move to level four for finance and emergency care on the government’s five-point scale.

In an update on escalation at each NHS organisation in Wales, Mr Miles warned the health board’s financial position has “deteriorated rapidly” over the past year.

“It is forecasting an £18.3m deficit by the end of March. This is not acceptable,” he said, announcing he will revoke approval of the health board’s three-year plan.

Mr Miles said the health board had been at level three due to concerns about emergency care at the Grange hospital in Cwmbran but will move to level four.

He told the Senedd: “The health board has failed to deliver the required improvements… This will result in direct intervention by the Welsh Government… to improve the timeliness and quality of urgent and emergency care for people living in the Gwent region.”

Mr Miles announced Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board, in north Wales, would remain at level five or special measures. He pointed to interventions including a review of planned care, cancer and emergency services as well as an investigation into management of waiting times data.

But he raised “considerable” progress on governance and leadership at Hywel Dda Health Board following the appointment of a new chair and chief executive.

He announced Hywel Dda will be de-escalated to routine, level-one arrangements for governance and leadership. However, the west-Wales health board remains at level three for planned care and cancer as well as level four for finance and A&E performance.

He told Senedd members he was appointing a “senior turnaround director” to provide support to Cardiff and Vale Health Board, which was placed into level four in July.

Mr Miles said the escalation levels of Cwm Taf Morgannwg, Swansea Bay and Powys health boards, as well as other NHS bodies such as the ambulance services trust, will not change. All seven health boards in Wales remain in some form of escalated status.

In today’s (December 16) statement, Mr Miles said long waits are falling as he pointed to a 43% reduction in lost ambulance hours since the last six-monthly update in July.

But James Evans, the Conservatives’ shadow health secretary, questioned whether intervention is delivering meaningful improvements for patients and staff.

Pointing out that Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board has been “trapped” in special measures for most of the past decade, he told the Senedd: “It is deeply concerning that, once again, we see multiple health boards at levels four and five.”

Mr Evans urged ministers to publish performance metrics, risk assessments and evidence used to assign escalation levels to enable decisions to be properly scrutinised.

He warned focusing on local financial mismanagement of health boards risks ignoring wider, systemic challenges driven by the Welsh Government’s policy and funding decisions.

Plaid Cymru’s Mabon ap Gwynfor agreed with his Tory counterpart about “deeper and more systemic” failures becoming a “constant feature” of the government’s record.

“Measures that should be exceptional, temporary and used only as a last resort have instead become routine,” he said. “It is the people of Wales who are paying the price for that failure.”

The Plaid health spokesperson said Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board has come to “embody the Welsh Government’s failure to embed lasting performance improvement”.

Mr ap Gwynfor told the Senedd: “This situation suggests one of two things: either the special measures system itself is not working or there’s no ceiling to Labour’s mismanagement.”

Mr Miles emphasised that escalation is about supporting health boards, not punishing them. The health secretary also pointed to challenges in other parts of the UK, with 12 of the 14 health boards in Scotland also in escalation.

Speaking ahead of the Senedd debate, South Wales East MS Natasha Asghar said: “This serious intervention is a damning indictment of Labour’s track record when it comes to the health service here in Wales and it is my constituents who are paying the price.

The Conservative MS continued: “Our dedicated NHS staff go above and beyond day in, day out, often under unimaginable pressure, but they are being let down by the chaos and mismanagement from the Labour Welsh Government.

“The problems within our health service have been known for quite some time, yet it appears Labour politicians in the Senedd are either reluctant or totally incapable of doing anything to fix the system.

“The Welsh Government must now finally declare a health emergency and focus all efforts on improving outcomes for patients, driving down shamefully high waiting lists, and turning our health service around.”

Charity sets out manifesto ahead of 2026 Senedd election, warning Wales cannot treat its way out of the mental health crisis

THE MENTAL HEALTH FOUNDATION has published its 2026 Senedd election manifesto, urging all political parties seeking to form the next Welsh Government to move beyond strategy documents and guarantee ring-fenced funding for mental health prevention.

The charity warns that Wales faces a deepening mental health crisis that cannot be solved by treatment and crisis response alone, arguing that sustained investment in prevention is essential if pressure on NHS services is to be reduced and longstanding inequalities addressed.

Strategy welcomed, but funding questioned

The Welsh Government published its Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2025–2035 earlier this year, setting out a ten-year vision for improving mental health outcomes and placing prevention and early intervention at the heart of future policy.

Launching the strategy, Mental Health and Wellbeing Minister Sarah Murphy MS said it marked a shift away from crisis-driven responses, with a stronger focus on tackling the wider causes of poor mental health and improving access to support before people reach breaking point.

However, the Mental Health Foundation says the strategy is not backed by a dedicated or transparent prevention budget, warning that without ring-fenced funding and clear accountability, commitments risk remaining aspirational rather than deliverable.

Mental health decline and rising pressures

Welsh Government wellbeing data shows that overall mental wellbeing has not returned to pre-pandemic levels, with particular concern around children and young people. Evidence also highlights persistent inequalities, with people living in more deprived communities experiencing significantly poorer mental health outcomes.

Public Health Wales has repeatedly raised concerns about rising levels of anxiety, distress and emotional difficulties among young people, alongside clear links to poverty, housing insecurity and wider social pressures.

The Mental Health Foundation argues that these trends underline the need for prevention-focused policies that address the root causes of poor mental health, rather than relying on overstretched clinical services to intervene once people reach crisis point.

‘Words alone won’t change lives’

Alexa Knight, Director of Policy and Influencing at the Mental Health Foundation, said Wales could not “treat its way out” of the crisis.

She said:
“Wales is gripped by a growing mental health crisis, and we cannot treat our way out of it. For too long, policy has focused on treatment and crisis response while neglecting prevention — the very thing that stops problems before they start.

“We welcome the new Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy and its focus on prevention, but words alone won’t change lives. There is still no dedicated budget for prevention in Wales and no clear way to track spending or impact.

“The next Welsh Government must turn principle into practice with ring-fenced funding and clear accountability.”

Manifesto priorities

The Foundation’s Commitment to Prevention manifesto sets out five priorities for the next Welsh Government:

• prioritising prevention within overall mental health spending
• introducing a Welsh Child Payment to help tackle child poverty
• reaffirming Wales as a Nation of Sanctuary
• developing a dedicated approach to children and young people’s mental health
• addressing the wider social determinants of mental health, including housing, education and employment

The charity says these measures would not only improve wellbeing but reduce long-term costs by easing pressure on health and social care services and improving productivity.

A 2021 economic analysis estimated that poor mental health costs the Welsh economy more than £4.8 billion each year, through healthcare demand, lost productivity and wider social impacts.

Sector support for prevention focus

Health and third-sector organisations across Wales have broadly welcomed the Welsh Government’s emphasis on prevention, while cautioning that delivery will depend on long-term funding, workforce capacity and measurable outcomes.

Mental health charities and NHS bodies have consistently called for stronger coordination across housing, education, employment and community services, arguing that mental health outcomes cannot be improved through healthcare policy alone.

Election issue

With the 2026 Senedd election approaching, the Mental Health Foundation says mental health prevention must be a central political issue, backed by firm financial commitments rather than broad statements of intent.

Without decisive action, the charity warns, Wales risks continuing cycles of crisis care, rising waiting lists and widening inequality — outcomes it says are avoidable with early, sustained investment.