Home testing and vaccine catch-up plan launched as uptake falls after pandemic

PLANS to boost cervical cancer prevention across Wales have been set out by ministers, amid concerns that HPV vaccination rates have fallen since the pandemic.

In a written statement issued on Wednesday (Mar 25), Health Secretary Jeremy Miles said urgent work is underway to improve uptake of both vaccination and screening, which are key to preventing the disease.

The Welsh Government confirmed that before COVID-19, HPV vaccine uptake was close to the World Health Organisation’s 90% target — but levels have since dropped.

Health board vaccination teams have delivered more than 1,400 additional HPV vaccinations during 2025 as part of targeted efforts, particularly focusing on schools where uptake is lowest. Further catch-up programmes are planned over the next 12 months.

Public Health Wales has also launched surveys aimed at understanding why some young people and parents are not attending vaccination appointments, alongside a wider communications campaign highlighting the benefits of the vaccine.

Cervical screening, which detects high-risk strains of HPV, remains a key part of prevention efforts. However, participation varies across different groups.

A new initiative will see at-home cervical screening kits introduced later this year, aimed at women who rarely or never attend appointments. The move is designed to remove barriers to screening and improve access.

Latest figures show a gradual decline in cervical cancer cases and deaths in Wales. The number of cases has fallen from an average of 164 per year in the early 2000s to 149 in recent years, while annual deaths have dropped from 61 to 54.

Despite this progress, ministers say more must be done to improve early detection and treatment.

Cervical cancer is currently grouped within wider gynaecological cancers for NHS treatment targets, but plans are in place to report more detailed data by April 2027 to better track treatment times.

Jeremy Miles urged those eligible to take up both vaccination and screening offers, adding that improving access to prevention, diagnosis and treatment would be key to reducing cancer rates further in the years ahead.

A HEATED exchange in the Senedd has laid bare growing tensions over the future of hospital services in west Wales.

During the final First Minister’s Questions session, Paul Davies MS challenged First Minister Eluned Morgan to intervene and stop Hywel Dda University Health Board from removing services from local hospitals.

Mr Davies told the Senedd: “Residents across west Wales are understandably upset and angry at these decisions to strip services from their local hospitals.

“They want the Welsh Government to stand up for them and stop the health board from removing those vital services.”

He said he had repeatedly called on ministers to act, adding: “I have asked you time and time again to work with me and stand up for the people of west Wales… will you now intervene and stop the health board removing services from west Wales, yes or no?”

First Minister rejects intervention

In response, the First Minister acknowledged public concern but refused to commit to direct intervention.

Eluned Morgan said: “I recognise that communities are very upset about the situation. I understand that people are committed to their local services.

“These services are deeply valued and they’ve got to remain safe. They’ve got to be sustainable. They’ve got to be deliverable.”

She stressed that decisions must be based on clinical advice, adding: “This has got to be a decision that is clinically led and really thinks about the objectives that it’s trying to achieve to get people better.”

Accusations of ‘spin’

The First Minister also accused Mr Davies of misrepresenting proposals around Withybush Hospital.

She said: “What about the spin that you put up… to say that emergency departments in Withybush were actually going to close?”

She pointed to planned improvements, including expanded orthopaedics, increased cancer care, seven-day diagnostics, and enhanced same-day emergency care.

“You fail to mention this every time you talk, Paul,” she added.

Ms Morgan then challenged the Conservative MS directly, asking: “Do you agree that we should have a brand new hospital in west Wales? Yes or no?”

Key election issue

The exchange underlines how healthcare in west Wales — and particularly the future of services at Withybush Hospital — is becoming a key battleground ahead of the upcoming Senedd election.

Concerns over service changes, travel times, and hospital capacity have been repeatedly raised by campaigners and politicians across the region.

NEARLY 1,000 deaths in Wales have been linked to long waits in accident and emergency departments, according to new data.

Figures published by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) estimate that 965 deaths in 2025 were associated with patients waiting 12 hours or more for care. That equates to around 18 deaths a week and marks an increase of 29 compared to 2024.

The RCEM has described the situation as a “tragedy” that should send shockwaves through the political system.

Dr Rob Perry, Vice President of RCEM in Wales, said his thoughts were with the families affected.

He said: “My heart goes out to the loved ones of anyone who died following long waits in emergency departments.

“These are often some of the most vulnerable patients — those who are seriously ill or injured and in need of urgent admission. They should be receiving timely care, but too often they are left waiting the longest.”

Dr Perry said the figures point to a wider failure across the healthcare system, highlighting a lack of hospital beds and what is known as “exit block” — where patients cannot be discharged due to delays elsewhere in the system.

He said improving patient flow through hospitals, rather than diverting people away from emergency departments, is key to tackling long waits.

With Senedd elections approaching, the RCEM is urging political parties to prioritise increasing hospital capacity and addressing overcrowding in emergency departments.

A Welsh Government spokesperson said too many people are still waiting too long for emergency care.

They said: “Long stays in emergency departments are distressing for patients and their families and can lead to poorer outcomes, particularly for older people and those with complex needs.

“We have made clear that health boards must improve patient flow, eliminate 12-hour waits and end care being delivered in temporary spaces.

“We are working with the NHS, local authorities and partners to reduce pressures by expanding community-based care and increasing social care capacity.

“We remain committed to improving outcomes for people who need emergency treatment.”

Sandy Harding, Associate Director of Nursing, Policy and Professional Practice, Royal College of Nursing Wales said: “These findings are deeply disturbing and reflect our members’ experience in our 2025 report On the frontline of the UK’s corridor care crisis.  

“Every day, our members are witnessing the consequences of a system under extreme and sustained pressure, where patients are waiting far too long in environments that are not fit for safe, dignified care. 

“Corridor care has become an all-too-common reality in our hospitals, with patients being treated in inappropriate spaces without the privacy, monitoring, or resources they need. This is not what patients deserve, and it is not what nursing staff are trained to deliver. 

“Behind the figures are real people – patients whose conditions can deteriorate rapidly while waiting and nursing staff who are doing everything they can in increasingly difficult circumstances. The emotional and professional toll on the workforce cannot be overstated. 

“We urgently need action to address the root causes of these delays, including improving patient flow, increasing capacity and investing in both health and social care services. Without meaningful intervention, we risk normalising a level of care that falls far below acceptable standards. 

 “Our Election Manifesto is clear that the next Welsh government must eradicate corridor care as a matter of urgency, and we expect that in the first 50 days of being in office that they:  

• commit to publish Corridor Care data by Health Board monthly
• direct NHS Wales to pause the reduction in hospital beds and commission two national reviews, to examine A&E and hospital bed capacity at different levels of patient dependency
• establish care delivered to a patient in a chair for more than 24 hours as a “never event”.” 
• Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS said: “These figures are a national scandal. Nearly a thousand people dying after waiting over 12 hours in A&E reflects a system that is fundamentally broken and causing avoidable deaths. 
• “For too long, the focus has been on the front door of hospitals, when the real crisis is at the back door. Patients cannot be discharged because social care is overstretched, beds remain blocked, and A&E departments become dangerously overcrowded.
• “The Welsh Liberal Democrats have been the only political party focusing on fixing social care. We secured an extra £30 million for social care last year, and in Powys, that investment has already helped cut delayed discharges by a third. But this is only a drop in the ocean; we need to go much further and faster. 
• “If we are serious about ending these avoidable deaths, the next Welsh Government must properly fund social care and take a whole-system approach to fixing patient flow and funding social care properly will be a red line in any negotiations we hold with other parties.”