A statutory organisation that is part of the NHS. It comprises ten laboratory groups and two centres in the UK, with central coordination from PHLS headquarters. The service provides diagnostic-testing facilities for cases of suspected infectious disease. Its overall purpose is to protect the population from infection by maintaining a national capability of high quality for the detection, diagnosis, surveillance, protection and control of infections and communicable diseases. It provided microbiology services to hospitals, family doctors and local authorities as well as providing national reference facilities. In 2001 it was incorporated into the newly established health protection agency.