The numbers of people being diagnosed with HIV are rising

Staff say a change in funding priorities and a rise in numbers infected could shut Swansea's Aids Trust Cymru centre.

An HIV consultant says the lack of strategy for HIV care is increasing the burden on her workload.

Swansea Local Health Board says no decision has been taken.

Dr Olwen Williams, an HIV and Aids consultant at Wrexham Maelor hospital, says although HIV prevention work is included in the Welsh assembly government's strategy, there is no strategy for providing services to people diagnosed with HIV.

With the increase in HIV diagnoses, she said a lot of her time was being spent on patients' welfare, as there were no social care or support services for people with HIV in north Wales.

It will definitely not be enough for us to survive Linda Bevan

Her comments come as staff at the Aids Trust Centre, which serves the whole of mid and south west Wales, say a change in funding priorities mean they could be forced to close by next April.

Linda Bevan, who runs the centre in Swansea said : "Due to the rise in HIV and due to the statistics which have been recently identified, our core funders have to target their resources to preventative work - healthy living, safer sex.

"Whilst we do that type of work, we also do social care work," she said.

"Whilst we still have funding from our core funders, it's going to be much, much less than we have normally.

"It will definitely not be enough for us to survive."

The centre provides services to people in an area from Aberystwyth down to Haverfordwest and across as far as Bridgend.

"Without this centre, there is no focal point where people can feel relaxed, talk to their peers, discuss their medication, find out about side effects, find out how people have coped with either side effects," she added.

It's only been coming here and meeting other people that's given me the strength to see it through Frankie, centre user

Once user, Frankie, has used the centre since he was diagnosed three and a half years ago and referred by the hospital.

He said he was initially devastated by the news.

"I wasn't sure about my future. I wasn't sure who long I had to live.

"It's only been coming here and meeting other people that's given me the strength to see it through.

"I have been able to share it with my peers and have all the support from this organisation," he told BBC Wales.

"It's very much part of my life. I don't know what I could have done without it.

"People lives are involved here. We are the people behind the statistics."

The Welsh assembly government has said it is "currently reviewing HIV and sexual health services.