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A Welsh health board will not commission a pilot to deliver HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) through community pharmacies, The Pharmaceutical Journal has learned.
A pilot scheme to deliver PrEP through community pharmacies in Wales was anticipated to begin in the autumn of 2025.
However, in January 2026, a spokesperson for the Welsh government told The Pharmaceutical Journal that the scheme had been delayed owing to “operational issues”.
On 30 June 2026, a spokesperson for the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (CAVUHB) told The Pharmaceutical Journal that it had rejected the opportunity to run the pilot.
“At present, we are not in a position to commission the delivery of PrEP through community pharmacies. As with all service developments, decisions regarding investment must be made within the context of the CAVUHB’s current financial position and the need to prioritise available resources to deliver the greatest benefit across our population,” the spokesperson said.
“We recognise the important role that community pharmacies play in improving access to healthcare and supporting the health and wellbeing of our communities. We continue to review opportunities to develop and expand the range of services delivered through community pharmacies as part of our longer-term plans to improve access to care and make the best use of the skills and expertise of the wider primary care workforce.
“People who are eligible for PrEP can continue to access the service through existing commissioned sexual health services.”
PrEP is currently available in Wales through specialist sexual health clinics.
In its HIV action plan for 2023–2026, published in March 2023, the Welsh government recommended that shared care models should be developed to enable PrEP to be provided by GPs and community pharmacies.
Meanwhile, in a written update to the HIV action plan, published in November 2024, Jeremy Miles, the then Welsh cabinet secretary for health and social care, said: “A model providing more convenient access to PrEP in the community will be piloted.”
The Welsh government has been approached for comment.
In England, plans to provide PrEP in the community, including in pharmacies, have been in discussion since the publication of the country’s HIV action plan in 2021.
A roadmap for providing PrEP in the community, commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care and produced by the independent HIV Action Plan Implementation Steering Group, was published in February 2024, after originally being promised for the end of 2023.
Provision of PrEP was trialled in five community pharmacies in south-west England between 2024 and 2025, with researchers from the pilot also calling for pharmacies to be embedded in PrEP provision.
In addition, a report from HIV charity the Terence Higgins Trust, published on 1 January 2026, urged immediate action to enable community pharmacies to supply PrEP to “help close the gaps in access” to the medication, particularly for people living in more rural areas and those who may not access sexual health centres.
