Public Health Wales

What Public Health Wales does

Public Health Wales is the national public health agency for Wales, operating as an NHS Trust established by legislation in 2009 and headquartered at 2 Capital Quarter, Tyndall Street, Cardiff. It is one of 11 statutory organisations that constitute NHS Wales and delivers population-scale services including eight national screening programmes (Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm, Antenatal, Bowel, Breast, Cervical, Diabetic Eye, Newborn Bloodspot and Newborn Hearing), immunisations and vaccines (with a time-limited MenB programme launched June 2026 for young people), STI testing, health data and surveillance, and emergency preparedness. The organisation also runs branded services such as Help Me Quit (smoking cessation), Healthy Working Wales (workplace health), and Hapus (mental wellbeing).

Its technology and infrastructure footprint centres on the SAIL (Secure Anonymised Information Linkage) databank, which holds over 10 billion anonymised person-based records and serves accredited researchers via trusted third-party linkage, alongside a network of UKAS accredited microbiology laboratories (No. 9510) including the UK Anaerobe Reference Unit (UKARU) for the entire UK, the Pathogen Genomics Unit (PenGU), and reference units for Cryptosporidium, Mycobacteria, Mycology, Toxoplasma, and antimicrobial chemotherapy. Specialist policy and analytics capability is embedded in units such as WHIASU, the Behavioural Science Unit, the Polisi policy team, and the Well-being Economics and Value team (established March 2024). The organisation also hosts the first and only WHO Collaborating Centre on Investment for Health and Well-being globally, re-designated in March 2022.

Public Health Wales is funded directly through Welsh Government NHS Wales allocations rather than through commercial pricing; services are provided free at the point of use to the population of Wales. Its customers are effectively institutional: the Welsh Government as principal funder, NHS Wales Health Boards and Trusts as commissioning and delivery partners, GPs as primary care referrers, UK-wide healthcare providers for UKARU reference submissions, and the wider Welsh population for screening, immunisation, and behavioural services. Its distribution channels are NHS-mediated (health boards, hospitals, GP services, regional laboratories) plus a UK-wide reference laboratory footprint accepting submissions via Royal Mail and Hays DX. As a publicly owned entity without external shareholders, the organisation does not generate commercial revenue and does not pursue fundraising, acquisitions, or capital markets activity.

Name

Public Health Wales

Legal name

Public Health Wales NHS Trust

Website

https://phw.nhs.wales

Company type

Public

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Public Health Wales is the national public health agency for Wales, an NHS Trust delivering screening, immunisation, microbiology reference, and health surveillance services to the Welsh population, NHS Wales health boards, and the UK.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Health Services

NAICS

Medical Laboratories (621511), Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories (62151)

SIC

Services-Medical Laboratories (8071)

akta.pro primary industry

State/Provincial Health Department & Public Health Administration (BPAIABAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

National Public Health Reference Laboratories (HLAJAIAA), Public Health Policy, Planning & Governance (BPAIAJAB), Non-Communicable Disease Prevention & Chronic Disease Programs (BPAIAJAI)

Keywords

• Public health services
• Health screening programmes
• Immunisation and vaccination
• Microbiology reference services
• Health data surveillance

Headquarters

HQ city

Cardiff

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. NHS Wales Public Funding: Public Health Wales is an independent NHS Trust funded through Welsh Government NHS Wales allocations. As a public health service, it operates under statutory functions established in 2009 and does not generate commercial revenue.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Public Health Wales is the national public health agency for Wales, providing population-level screening programmes (including bowel, breast, cervical, diabetic eye, abdominal aortic aneurysm and newborn screening), immunisations and vaccinations, sexual health and STI testing, smoking cessation (Help Me Quit), workplace health (Healthy Working Wales), health protection and emergency preparedness, and health data and surveillance. It also operates an extensive network of specialist microbiology and reference laboratory services serving the Welsh population, NHS Wales and the wider UK healthcare system.

Product overview

Public Health Wales is the national public health agency for Wales and an NHS Trust providing population health services across multiple domains. The organisation operates a comprehensive portfolio of screening programmes (AAA, antenatal, bowel, breast, cervical, diabetic eye, newborn bloodspot and hearing), immunisation services, health data and surveillance, STI testing, health protection, and specialist microbiology reference services including UKARU, Cryptosporidium, Mycology, Toxoplasma, Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, Mycobacteria, and Pathogen Genomics. Additional services include Help Me Quit smoking cessation, Healthy Working Wales, WHO Collaborating Centre on Investment for Health and Well-being, Well-being Economics and Value Team, ACE Support Hub, Wales Violence Prevention Unit, International Health Coordination Centre, Behavioural Science Unit, Polisi Team, WHIASU, and Health and Sustainability Hub.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Help Me Quit: National smoking cessation service and contact centre helping people in Wales quit smoking
• Hapus
• WHO Collaborating Centre on Investment for Health and Well-being

Products and services

• Screening Programmes Population-level screening programmes offered to the residents of Wales, including bowel, breast, cervical, diabetic eye, abdominal aortic aneurysm and newborn screening, delivered in partnership with NHS Wales Health Boards.
• Immunisations and Vaccines (including MenB Vaccination Programme for Young People) Nationally delivered immunisation and vaccination programmes for the Welsh population, including the introduction of a MenB vaccination programme for young people.
• Health Data and Surveillance Population health intelligence, surveillance and data linkage services for the population of Wales, supporting NHS Wales and Welsh Government with evidence on health outcomes and risk factors.
• Sexual Health and STI Testing Sexual health services including sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing provided to the population of Wales.
• Health Protection Services Health protection and emergency preparedness services covering outbreak management, incident response and population protection for Wales.
• Help Me Quit Stop-smoking support service delivered to the population of Wales as part of Public Health Wales' behavioural and preventive health portfolio.
• Healthy Working Wales Workplace health and wellbeing programme offered to employers and employees in Wales to improve workplace health outcomes.
• Microbiology Diagnostic Services Specialist diagnostic microbiology services provided through UKAS-accredited laboratories (UKAS No. 9510), serving NHS Wales, the Welsh population and other UK customers.
• UK Anaerobe Reference Unit (UKARU) Anaerobe reference laboratory serving all of the United Kingdom, providing specialist identification, typing and clinical advice on anaerobic organisms.
• Cryptosporidium Reference Unit National reference service for the detection, identification and typing of Cryptosporidium species for clinical and environmental diagnostics.
• Food, Water and Environmental Services Microbiological testing services for food, water and environmental samples to support public health and regulatory functions across Wales.
• Mycology Regional Reference Unit (MRRU) Regional reference service for the identification and characterisation of fungal pathogens.
• Toxoplasma Reference Unit (TRU) Reference service for the diagnosis and characterisation of Toxoplasma infections.
• Specialist Antimicrobial Chemotherapy Unit (SACU) Specialist antimicrobial chemotherapy testing and reference service supporting antimicrobial resistance management across the UK.
• Wales Centre for Mycobacteria (WCM) National mycobacteria reference service providing identification, drug susceptibility testing and typing of Mycobacterium species.
• Pathogen Genomics Unit (PenGU) Specialist pathogen genomics service providing whole-genome sequencing and molecular typing to support outbreak investigation and surveillance.
• WHO Collaborating Centre on Investment for Health and Well-being Designated World Health Organization Collaborating Centre, the first and only such centre globally, focused on investment for health and well-being.
• Well-being Economics and Value Team Team producing well-being economics evidence and analysis to inform investment decisions across Public Health Wales and the Welsh public sector.
• ACE Support Hub Hub providing support, training and resources on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) for professionals, organisations and communities in Wales.
• Wales Violence Prevention Unit Unit coordinating violence prevention activity across Wales, providing evidence, training and partnership support.
• International Health Coordination Centre (IHCC) Centre coordinating Public Health Wales' international health partnerships and global engagement activities.
• Public Health Collaborating Unit Unit facilitating collaboration between Public Health Wales, NHS Wales and academic partners on public health research and evaluation.
• Behavioural Science Unit Unit applying behavioural science evidence and evaluation to Public Health Wales programmes and policy.
• Polisi Team Polisi team providing policy analysis and support for public health policy in Wales.
• WHIASU (Wales Health Impact Assessment Support Unit) Support unit providing health impact assessment expertise to inform policy and planning decisions across Wales.
• Health and Sustainability Hub Hub addressing the connections between health, sustainability and the environment as part of Public Health Wales' policy and evidence function.

Quantifiable outcome

• Evidence shows every £1 invested in public health interventions in Wales yields a return of £14

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for EuropeflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2018Public Health Wales serves as the WHO Collaborating Centre on Investment for Health and Well-being, designated in March 2018 and re-designated in March 2022. The centre is the first and only WHO CC in this area of expertise worldwide, working with WHO European Office for Investment for Health and Development in Venice, Italy to develop and share expertise on investing for better health and well-being.
• Welsh GovernmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMemorandum of Understanding between Welsh Government and WHO Regional Office for Europe supports the WHO European Well-being Economy Initiative. Public Health Wales supports delivery of national legislation including Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, A Healthier Wales strategy, and Public Health (Wales) Act 2017.
• Digital Health & Care Wales (DHCW)coreTechnology or IntegrationDHCW provides IT services within NHS Wales and is a key partner for health data infrastructure and systems supporting Public Health Wales operations.
• International Association of National Public Health Institutes (IANPHI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational network of national public health institutes supporting knowledge exchange and collaboration across countries.
• EuroHealthNetminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean network supporting public health and health equity, facilitating collaboration and knowledge sharing across European health organisations.
• Wales Violence Prevention Unit PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstablished in 2019, partnership between Public Health Wales, South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner, and South Wales Police to implement a whole-system public health approach to preventing violence, working with health, policing, education, local authorities, governments and third sector.
• Bangor University School of Health SciencescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublic Health Collaborating Unit (PHCU) established in 2017 and based at Bangor University, providing flexible resource for rapid assessment, evaluation, policy and service development support to Public Health Wales.
• SAIL DatabankcoreTechnology or IntegrationTrusted third-party data linkage service enabling sharing of anonymised health information with university and accredited researchers for public health research purposes.
• European Committee for Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUKARU provides reference level support for EUCAST, contributing to development of antimicrobial susceptibility testing standards.
• Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUKARU provides reference level support for CLSI standards development in laboratory testing.
• Future Generations Commissioner for WalescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on implementing Well-being of Future Generations Act, supporting long-term thinking and prevention in public health.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): The CDC is the US national public health agency with a much broader scope and larger scale, but comparable in mandate across disease prevention, surveillance, laboratory reference services, immunisation, and emergency response, making it a useful structural peer.

Regional players

• Robert Koch Institute (RKI): RKI is Germany's federal public health agency, directly comparable in mandate to PHW across national disease surveillance, reference laboratory services, immunisation programmes, and population health research.
• European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC): ECDC is the EU agency for infectious disease surveillance, reference laboratory networking, and public health intelligence across member states, comparable in mission to PHW's health protection, microbiology, and pathogen genomics functions at a pan-European level.
• Santé Publique France: Santé Publique France is the national public health agency of France, structurally comparable to Public Health Wales in delivering surveillance, screening oversight, health promotion, and emergency preparedness at national scale.
• Sciensano: Sciensano is the Belgian federal public health institute, a structural peer to Public Health Wales in providing national health surveillance, reference laboratory diagnostics, and public health research across a national population.
• Public Health Agency of Canada: The Public Health Agency of Canada is the federal national public health agency, comparable to PHW across disease prevention, health promotion, emergency preparedness, and immunisation programme delivery at a national-population scale.
• National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM): RIVM is the Dutch national public health and environmental institute, comparable to PHW in integrating population health surveillance, reference laboratory work, vaccination policy support, and environmental health under a single statutory agency.

Direct peers

• UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA): UKHSA is the UK-wide health protection agency responsible for infectious disease surveillance, reference microbiology, and emergency preparedness, directly comparable to Public Health Wales's health protection, UKARU reference laboratory, and microbiology functions across the UK.
• Public Health Scotland: Public Health Scotland is the national public health agency for Scotland, the closest structural peer to Public Health Wales, delivering population health intelligence, screening oversight, and health protection services for a national population within the NHS.

Others

• International Association of National Public Health Institutes (IANPHI): IANPHI is the international network of national public health institutes of which Public Health Wales is a member, providing peer knowledge exchange, capability benchmarking, and partnership pathways across more than 100 national institutes globally.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PublicHealthW
• Facebookfacebook.com/PublicHealthWales

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Public Health Wales