Cervical screening at the recently opened national laboratory at the Coombe University Hospital in Dublin has been paused due to accreditation suspension, the Health Service Executive has confirmed.
The issue relates to new governance and structural changes and not the technical quality of screening work.
The €20m laboratory opened in December and has been doing a small amount of cervical screening.
Most samples still go to Quest Diagnostics in the United States.
The samples are tested to see if there is a HPV (human papillomavirus) infection.
CervicalCheck said it uses a US provider because there are not enough quality assured laboratories in Ireland to meet its needs.
The HSE said the Coombe University Hospital had paused HPV and cytology sample processing for CervicalCheck while it completes its final accreditation documentation, as required by the Irish National Accreditation Board (INAB).
The quality and safety of the hospital's laboratory services are not affected by the issue.
The HSE said the hospital had been granted INAB accreditation for sample processing last November, while the outstanding documents were being filed.
The HSE added that while the hospital has worked to complete the documentation, it reports it is with much regret it has not met its filing deadline.
