The Public Health Laboratory (PHL), HSE Dublin is located in the grounds of Cherry Orchard Hospital, and is administered by HSE Community Healthcare East (CHO 6). It aims to support the diagnosis, prevention and control of infectious communicable diseases and food borne illnesses.
The Laboratory has a unique specialist public health microbiology scope and is accredited to both ISO 15189 and ISO 17025 by INAB. The PHL Dublin provides National gastro-enteric specialist reference laboratory (NRL) services for Verocytotoxin E. coli, Campylobacter and C. difficile, and a broader regional and local accredited gastro-enteric pathogen (bacterial, viral, O/P) scope.
The PHL Dublin supports the investigation of gastro-enteric outbreaks nationwide & internationally along with the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), Regional Departments of Public Health & HSE Environmental services using traditional and advanced molecular techniques.
It also is a source of specialist clinical advice provided by its Consultant Medical staff.
It contributes to the European surveillance of gastro-enteric diseases.
Under the ISO 17025:2017 scope of accreditation, the PHL Dublin is an EU Official designated food testing laboratory (EU 2017/625) working under contract with the FSAI for its food safety surveillance programme together with the HSE Environmental Health Service (EHS). It also supports the EHS with a variety of accredited microbiology water testing (potable, therapeutic, legionella) to support their legislative activities.
It provides support to cardiology units nationally by delivering quality assured accredited testing for M.chimaera of their heater cooler unit waters used in open heart surgery. It also provides DML AHCFs with testing of food and therapeutic waters to support the safety of their operational activities.
As a rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic, PHL HSE Dublin set up a comprehensive COVID-19 testing service for community and long-term care facilities.
The PHL adheres to the principles of data protection which are set out in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Acts 1988 to 2018.
In 2018, we achieved the HSE Excellence award for innovation of a new service. This was in recognition of the introduction of the novel whole genomic sequencing methodology for gastro-enteric molecular tying of pathogens with a documented public health benefit and associated cost savings.
PHL is an ECDC designated training site for the EUPHEM (European Public Health Microbiology) 2 year Fellowship and is involved in many research activities.
Public Health Laboratory, Health Service Executive, Cherry Orchard Hospital, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10
Phone: 01 795 5175 or 01 795 5176
Content last reviewed: February 2022
