Public Health Wales has apologised after revealing that some people living with HIV who requested Hepatitis C testing through its Sexual Health Test and Post Service were not tested due to a technical issue.

The service, which processes nearly 100,000 sexual health test requests in Wales each year, said the problem affected number of tests carried out between May 2020 and February 25, 2026. Those affected are now being contacted and offered testing.

Dr. Robin Howe, Director of Infection Services at Public Health Wales, said: "We understand this situation may have caused concern, and we want to sincerely apologise for any worry experienced. The technical cause of the issue has now been fully resolved. We want to reassure everyone that this is a safe service through which to receive sexual health advice and testing. Your health matters, and we encourage anyone who needs sexual health services to continue using the Sexual Health Test and Post Service to protect their health."

A helpline has been set up for those concerned.

Public Health Wales says it has taken immediate action to “change its technical processes” to avoid this happening again. It has also commissioned a full, independent external review into the Sexual Health Test and Post Service.

It added that the number of people affected by this issue represent “a very small proportion” of tests carried out annually.

This is the latest in a series of problems for the service. In February, Public Health Wales admitted that safeguarding and data handling failures had occurred, including occasions where test results were sent to the wrong health board and safeguarding information was incorrectly reported. The organisation said a small number of people had received incorrect results or experienced delays, and all affected individuals were contacted and offered follow-up care.

Public Health Wales said it became aware of those 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.

At the time, 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.”

For more information and guidance, please visit the Public Health Wales website.

A helpline is also available for anyone concerned on 0800 0352 877, open Monday–Friday 8am–5pm and weekends 9am–4pm.