Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
BBC News - Thursday, 25 November, 2004
The Terrence Higgins Trust Cymru said infection rates in the virus, which can lead to Aids, had risen 45% in the last two years, from 398 in 2001 to 575 in 2003.
The charity said the rise outstripped the increase in sexual health services.
The Welsh Assembly Government said a review of such services was underway.
The trust's national director, David Lynch, was due to tell an NHS conference in north Wales on Thursday that a new approach was needed to reverse the trend.
The trust said in its "blueprint for the future" that the increase in HIV infection rates was outstripping the growth in provision of sexual health services.
It claimed that a "comprehensive and collaborative overhaul of prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care services" was essential to bring infection rates down.
The report, which will be presented at the NHS Confederation Conference in Llandudno, proposes bringing together the work of local health boards, NHS trusts and the Welsh assembly, local authorities and community organisations.
The charity wants to create locally and nationally co-ordinated programmes to cut sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV, walk-in STI and HIV testing services within communities, and a care network involving GPs, hospitals and charities.
It also wants to encourage people to take more responsibility for their sexual health by building awareness and education.
Risk groups
Mr Lynch said: "We are seeing massive waiting lists and waiting times to go to a clinic, sometimes two, three, four, five weeks.
"People aren't getting diagnosed at an early stage and aren't getting help at an early stage.
"There needs to be a commitment to acknowledging sexual health in Wales to stop infection rates rocketing further.
"It has been even less of a priority because of low figures historically but it's time to change."
Dr Olwen Williams, a genito-urinary consultant at Wrexham Maelor Hospital, said: "We have seen a rise across all risk groups and people are presenting later in their disease.
"Some are coming in with infections who have got an Aids diagnosis. These are people who haven't identified themselves as being at risk.
"They're people who have never really thought about it and get a surprise when they find out that the pneumonia they've got is related to HIV - a group we were seeing 20 years ago," said Dr Williams.
An assembly government spokesperson said: "There is a review of HIV and sexual health services currently underway.
"Recommendations include standards to be set for services and measures to ensure speedy access to HIV and sexually transmitted infection testing services."
The spokesperson said health minister Jane Hutt would make a statement before the end of this assembly session, with recommendations going out for consultation early in the new year.
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