Cardiff endometriosis centre faces accreditation risk
The specialist endometriosis centre at University Hospital of Wales could lose its professional accreditation by December because of gaps in staffing, theatre capacity and multidisciplinary support, according to Cardiff and Vale University Health Board's corporate risk register.
Cardiff accreditation risk
- Current risk score
- 20
- Target risk score
- 8
- Risk deadline
- December 2026
- Petition debate threshold
- 10,000
The board rates the risk at 20, against a target score of eight. Its published record says losing accreditation could bring major clinical, financial and reputational consequences and could close the tertiary service.
What the risk register says
The risk was raised in February after the British Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy introduced new accreditation criteria for 2026. The board recorded no key controls and said no finance was available for a current resolution, with financial barriers listed against the treatment plan.
The professional body's requirements cover specialist surgical expertise, a multidisciplinary clinical team, audited outcomes and enough complex cases to maintain skills. Accreditation is reviewed annually.
Petition passes committee threshold
A Senedd petition asking politicians to intervene has collected more than 1,600 signatures and remains open until 8 December. Because it has passed 250 signatures, the Petitions Committee will consider it after collection closes. A petition needs 10,000 signatures to be considered for a Senedd debate.
The claim about Wales' only centre
The petition describes Cardiff as Wales' only tertiary BSGE-accredited centre for complex, deep infiltrating endometriosis, and the health board's service page calls it the only NHS BSGE-accredited centre in Wales providing tertiary referral surgery. The current BSGE directory, however, lists accredited NHS centres at both University Hospital of Wales and Singleton Hospital in Swansea, as well as other Welsh centres.
Senedd Research also identifies the Cardiff and Swansea services as Wales' two NHS BSGE-accredited tertiary centres for complex disease. The public records therefore support the accreditation risk at Cardiff but do not support presenting it simply as Wales' only accredited centre.
What happens next
The published risk register records December as the point by which accreditation could be lost. It does not say that accreditation has already been withdrawn or that the centre has closed. The immediate questions are whether the health board can fund the workforce and theatre changes, and what continuity arrangements would apply to patients if it cannot.