Public Health Wales has admitted safeguarding and data handling failures in its national Sexual Health Test and Post Service.

In a statement issued this afternoon (February 24), the body said safeguarding processes linked to its online and community postal testing service “were not effective and did not meet required legislative standards”.

It said safeguarding information had been incorrectly reported to health boards rather than local authorities.

Public Health Wales said it became aware of the issues in November and December 2025 and had since changed its internal safeguarding procedures. A review of past cases is under way, with affected cases being referred to the relevant local authorities where necessary.

The organisation also identified data handling concerns, including occasions where test results were sent to the wrong health board. The incidents have been reported to the Information Commissioner's Office.

A “small number” of people were found to have received incorrect test results, while others experienced delays to results and referrals. Public Health Wales said anyone affected had been contacted and offered appropriate follow-up care.

Professor Fu-Meng Khaw, National Director of Health Protection and Screening Services and Medical Director at Public Health Wales, said: “I would like to sincerely apologise to anyone who has been affected by these issues. Please be assured that as soon as these issues were identified, we acted immediately to put things right.

“Our services remain here for you whether you need a confidential sexual health test sent to your home, access to condoms, or advice on any sexual health concerns – our teams are here to support you.

“We will be commissioning a full independent external review into these issues. We are committed to learning from this experience and understanding exactly what went wrong, so we can improve the quality of the service.”

Each year, the Sexual Health Test and Post Service processes nearly 100,000 requests for testing for sexually transmitted infections.

Public Health Wales said anyone who has not been contacted about incorrect or delayed results does not need to get in touch, but a helpline has been set up for concerned service users. This can be reached on 0800 0352 877. It will be open 8am-8pm Monday to Friday and 9am-4pm on weekends.