Cervical screening: laboratory HPV testing and cytology services
Recording and reporting requirements for laboratories in accordance with the primary high risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) screening pathway.
Applies to England
Documents
Details
This guidance covers:
- the pathway for primary hrHPV screening
- the refinement of sample adequacy using findings from the Health Technology Assessment study
- information on what to include in the HPV-U reporting category
- call and recall codes for primary hrHPV screening
- the role and responsibilities for service leads
- advice for managers on laboratory organisation
It replaces:
- ‘Achievable standards, benchmarks for reporting and criteria for evaluating cervical cytopathology’ (2013), once a laboratory has implemented testing for high risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV)
- ‘Laboratory organisation: a guide for laboratories participating in the NHS Cervical Screening Programme (2003)’
Updates to this page
-
Rewording of paragraphs in the introduction and sections 1.1, 5, 5.1 and 5.2 to reflect extension of screening interval to 5 years.
Update history
2026-08-25 09:30
Updated to reflect new HPV sample taker training guidance
2025-07-09 09:46
Rewording of paragraphs in the introduction and sections 1.1, 5, 5.1 and 5.2 to reflect extension of screening interval to 5 years.
2025-04-16 13:02
Minor terminology updates made; CSMS and colposcopy discharge updates and inserted information on sample transportation to centralised HPV/cytology screening laboratories, consumables distribution and cytology results from guidance previously in the implementation guide for primary HPV screening.
2024-09-26 11:05
Added clarification that publication was originally published by Public Health England.
2024-09-25 12:19
Clarified that the presence of endocervical cells is not required for a negative report.