Guidance

Cervical screening: laboratory testing for human papillomavirus

This document provides information on internal quality control and assurance procedures, and external quality assessment.

• From: NHS England
• Published: 25 January 2017
• Last updated: 25 August 2026
  Show all updates

  1. 25 August 2026

     Updated to reflect new HPV sample taker training guidance

  2. 26 September 2024

     Added clarification that publication was originally published by Public Health England.

  3. 25 July 2019

     Updated to provide additional guidance on the use of IQC material and advice on training and competency requirements for staff using a new HPV platform.

  4. 25 January 2017

     First published.

Documents

NHS Cervical Screening Programme: laboratory quality control and assurance for human papillomavirus testing

Ref: PHE publications gateway number: GW-557

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Details

This document is for laboratories performing human papillomavirus (HPV) testing for the NHS Cervical Screening Programme (NHSCSP). It covers:

• internal quality control (IQC)
• internal quality assessment (IQA) procedures and monitoring
• external quality assessment (EQA)

The guidance reflects the standards within ISO15189.