Cardiac Rehabilitation Exercise Instructor

Cardiac Rehabilitation Exercise Instructor

NHS AfC: Band 5

Main area Cardiac Rehabilitation Grade NHS AfC: Band 5 Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week Job ref 339-MED8888-MJA

Site Southmead Hospital Town Bristol Salary £32,073 - £39,043 per annum pro rata for part time roles Salary period Yearly Closing 12/10/2026 23:59

North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT) and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) have merged as of 1 st July 2026 to become Bristol NHS Foundation Trust. This creates an exciting future that brings together the best of both organisations. As a single, strong and sustainable organisation, we will not only be able to deliver better outcomes for our patients and fairer care for our population, but it will also provide greater opportunities for our people.

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust recognise the value of a healthy work-life balance. When applying, speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate flexible working, so your work life fits around your home life.

We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates as they are under-represented within the Trust. Our job adverts may close as soon as sufficient applications have been received. Considering this, if you are interested in this role, please do apply as soon as you can.

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Job overview

We have an exciting opportunity for a cardiac rehabilitation exercise instructor to join our team. We are fully certified by BACPR and are able to provide innovative and flexible person-centred healthcare making use of digital healthcare, wellbeing programmes and close links with community services. We provide holistic support, advice and interventions to people in the weeks following a cardiac diagnosis when they need it most, and we can demonstrate excellent outcomes for our patients.

Across Bristol NHS Foundation Trust over 1000 people receive cardiac rehabilitation every year, making us the largest cardiac rehabilitation service in the region.

A cardiac rehabilitation exercise instructor will support patients directly in the exercise component of their rehabilitation, and will also contribute to all components of cardiac rehabilitation to meet the needs of our service users.

Main duties of the job

• To support patients in the immediate recovery following a cardiac event or diagnosis in all core components of phase 3 cardiac rehabilitation in collaboration with the broader multi-disciplinary team.
• To contribute to the development and delivery of in-person and telephone-based exercise and education programmes, and to the assessment of patients joining these programmes.
• To act as a skilled autonomous practitioner choosing, planning and developing the most appropriate treatment programmes tailored to individual needs ensuring access to high quality and equitable treatment in either hospital or community settings.
• To take responsibility for leading in the delivery of the exercise component of phase 3 cardiac rehabilitation classes for patients who may have complex and/or chronic diagnoses using evidence-based guidelines.
• To monitor, evaluate and record patient outcomes, offering advice and support. To provide a high standard of patient care by setting individual patient centred goals with consideration to cardiovascular risk factors.
• The post holder will report to the enhanced practitioners and service lead and will support the development of junior staff and students.

Working for our organisation

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust brings together more than 28,000 staff to deliver over 160 clinical services across thirteen hospital locations, operating from three main sites at Southmead, Bristol city centre and Weston.

With an annual turnover of £2.3 billion, we are now one of the largest NHS trusts in the United Kingdom. Our hospitals are spread across Bristol and Weston, join us and you can enjoy the very best of both worlds; city living within a stone’s throw of the countryside or beside the seaside, both with easy access to all that the South West has to offer.

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust values all people as individuals. As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them. Anonymous information will be used from your application in order to ensure we’re meeting our pledge.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see complete job description for full duties and for person specification.

Person specification

Education and qualifications

• Evidence of Degree in Sport Science or other sport/exercise related degree which includes anatomy & physiology subjects
• The Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMPSA) Level 3
• British Association of Cardiac Prevention & Rehabilitation (BACPR) Phase 4 Training
• Basic Life Support
• BASES Exercise Science Certified Practitioner
• Registered clinical exercise physiologist
• Membership of relevant Exercise organisations i.e. BACPR

Knowledge, skills and abilities

• Experience and aptitude using IT systems, and Microsoft Office tools

Experience

• Evidence of delivering structured group education to complex groups of cardiac patients regarding lifestyle changes
• Experience of supervising junior members of staff / students that are on placement within the teamExperience of undertaking exercise assessments to determine suitability onto the program, including goal setting
• Willingness to be flexible for example; have the ability to independently travel around the trust and external sites to enable delivery of the current service contract in order to meet the needs of the service

Knowledge, skills and abilities

• Highly effective communication skills - verbally and written to staff, patients and relatives including in situations of conflict or distress

Experience

• Experience of delivering Phase 3 and/or 4 Cardiac Rehabilitation
• Have a proactive, enthusiastic and a positive approach

Knowledge, skills and abilities

• Ability to review exercise data and information to ensure effectiveness of individual risk stratification programme
• Able to work autonomously using own initiative and able to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team

Experience

• Experience of delivering exercise to complex patient groups with multiple co-morbidities

Personal Qualities

• Flexibility, adaptability to meet needs of a changing service
• Ability to cope with emotional issues presented in the course of work, and to support others
• Initiative, personal integrity, reliability and ability to demonstrate confidence
• Delivering exercise sessions throughout the day and inducting clients on equipment
• Supporting patients with emotional well‑being and mental health
• Time management throughout the day
• Be able to manage a group setting, design programs and assist in achieving goals

We hope that you will decide to join us and become part of this exciting journey, helping us to shape our future together.

• As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them. Anonymous information will be used from your application to ensure we’re meeting our pledge.
• The Trust is committed to investing in and caring for all our staff. We will support you in maintaining and improving your health and wellbeing, as well as your career development through management and training support - developing exceptional people for exceptional careers.
• BFT is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults.
• To comply with Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016 all applicants must be able to speak fluent English to an appropriate standard which will be assessed at Interview.
• If you require sponsorship for a visa to work in the UK, to avoid disappointment, please check to ensure you are eligible under the UKVI points based system.
• The Trust uses electronic new starter forms on Trac to collect personal details. Information collected is securely stored and used to set up the employee record on the ESR HR system.
• By applying for this post, you are agreeing to Bristol NHS Foundation Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.
• Please be aware of scams – unless specified above, we will only communicate with you via @recruit.trac.jobs or nhs.net e‑mails and we will never ask you for any payments.

IMPORTANT:

Please note that if you apply for a position with this Trust, you may be contacted via Trac or via email. This includes invites for job interviews. We therefore recommend that you regularly check your Trac account and email accounts. We may also contact you by texting the mobile number, if provided, on the application form.

Due to the high number of applications that are received for some posts we may close this vacancy before the advertised closing date. Therefore, please apply for this post as soon as you can, if you are interested and you meet the requirements of the Person Specification

Only those candidates who clearly demonstrate how they meet the person specification will be shortlisted for this job.

As a guide interviews should usually take place within 3 weeks of the closing date.

When providing employment reference details, please provide correct work-related email addresses so references can be sought promptly when we are looking to progress your application. Your referee must all be known to you in a line manager or professional lead capacity.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

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