NHS Cardiac Physiologist Salary 2026/27: Band 5 to 7

This page is for people considering a career in cardiac physiology, graduates about to take their first Band 5 post, and cardiac physiologists who want to understand what moves them from Band 5 to Band 6. It deals with cardiac physiologists, who are healthcare science practitioners. Cardiographers, who record ECGs, and clinical scientists in cardiology are related roles with different bands and routes, and we point to them where they differ.

Cardiac physiologist pay points 2026/27 (England)

Use the NHS Pay Calculator for your exact take-home pay at any band and point, including High Cost Area Supplement. For every band side by side, see the Agenda for Change pay scales guide.

Scotland's rates

NHS Scotland has its own 2026/27 table. For this role it runs from £34,544 to £61,466. Band 5: £34,544 to £43,039. Band 6: £43,231 to £52,679. Band 7: £52,845 to £61,466. See NHS Scotland pay scales 2026/27 for every band.

Band 5 on appointment, Band 6 when signed off

NHS Careers lists the healthcare science practitioner level on Band 5, covering tasks such as ambulatory ECG and blood pressure monitoring, technical support during pacemaker work, exercise stress testing and technical reports. Echocardiographers and clinical scientists are listed on Bands 6, 7 or 8a.

Trusts add detail. A 2026 advert for a senior cardiac physiologist in a hospital cardiology department described the post as Band 6 and said newly qualified applicants would start on Band 5 and be paid as Band 5 until they had passed the competencies that allow them to work independently and join the primary PCI service. The role summary suggested this should happen within twelve months. Another trust's advert tied the move to evidence provided to HR within an agreed timeframe, and a third described linked bandings across Bands 5, 6 and 7. These are local arrangements, so ask what the sign-off criteria are, who assesses them, and what date the new band starts.

Because the move depends on competencies and not on time served, the practical advice is to ask for the competency list at interview and to book your assessments early. If the sign-off is delayed through no fault of yours, see how to challenge your NHS pay band.

Our Band 5, Band 6 and Band 7 pages list the pay points for each step.

Routes in: degree, apprenticeship or cardiographer first

NHS Careers describes the Practitioner Training Programme (PTP) as the main undergraduate route into healthcare science practitioner roles: a three-year full-time degree with at least 50 weeks of workplace training in the NHS, with applications for full-time courses made through UCAS. It is also available as a Level 6 apprenticeship. For a cardiac degree, check each university's entry requirements, which typically ask for science A-levels or equivalent.

The graduate route is the Scientist Training Programme (STP), which leads to clinical scientist status. Graduates with a relevant degree can enter echocardiography training through the postgraduate Echocardiography Training Programme. See clinical scientist salary for the STP route.

Lower entry points exist. NHS Careers lists healthcare science assistants on Band 2 or 3, entered through a job or a Level 2 apprenticeship, and associates on Band 4, entered through a job or a Level 4 apprenticeship. A cardiographer can work towards the cardiac physiology degree with experience and further training. Some trusts advertise apprentice cardiac physiologist posts too.

If you are comparing options, read how to become an NHS healthcare scientist, NHS apprenticeships and the healthcare science pay hub.

Registration: voluntary registers, not the HCPC

The HCPC regulates 15 professions, and cardiac physiology is not among them. NHS Careers says only two healthcare science roles require HCPC registration: biomedical scientist and clinical scientist. Cardiac physiologists can join voluntary registers instead.

The Academy for Healthcare Science (AHCS) runs a Healthcare Science Practitioner register that is accredited by the Professional Standards Authority. NHS adverts commonly ask for registration with the AHCS or with the Registration Council for Clinical Physiologists (RCCP), which appears alongside the AHCS in cardiac physiology posts. One advert asked newly qualified Band 5 applicants to hold a cardiac physiology degree and to apply to the AHCS during their first twelve months, while Band 6 posts expected registration on either register and a current immediate or advanced life support certificate.

Echocardiographers have a separate route. NHS Careers says those who complete the Echocardiography Training Programme can be on the AHCS Specialist Echocardiographer register. Employers may also expect you to work towards specialist accreditation in the first years of a post.

Registration is voluntary in law but often required by the employer, so treat it as part of the job and check who pays the fee. Fees may be eligible for tax relief if you must hold them to do the job; see professional registration fees tax relief. Our audiologist salary page explains a similar split between HCPC and voluntary registers.

Specialising and moving up: echocardiography and beyond

NHS Careers lists echocardiographer on Bands 6, 7 and 8a, and also lists pacemaker implantation and follow-up, exercise stress testing and complex diagnostics as specialised areas. Experienced registered scientists can pursue Higher Specialist Scientist Training, which requires a relevant MSc. Other options include specialisation, management, research and teaching.

Moving from Band 6 to Band 7 usually means taking a post at that band, such as a senior physiologist, echo lead or team manager. Some trusts describe linked bandings that allow movement through Bands 5, 6 and 7 as you develop, but those are the exception. Band 7 posts are individual vacancies, so read the person specification for what each one expects.

The choice of specialism affects your working pattern. Pacing and device work, interventional lists and inpatient echo all have different demands, and the on-call commitment is not the same everywhere. Read the person specification for accreditation and postgraduate requirements, because some trusts expect you to work towards these as part of the post.

For timescales and what changes in take-home pay when a band changes, see NHS band progression: a realistic career timeline and the is an NHS promotion worth it calculator.

On-call, unsocial hours and Scotland

On-call is where cardiac physiology pay differs most from other practitioner roles. The 2026 advert we reviewed expected Band 6 staff to join a 24-hour primary PCI on-call rota, starting from a weekday pattern of 8am to 5pm. Not every department has an emergency service, so some posts have no on-call at all.

On-call payments are agreed locally under the principles in Annex 29 of the Handbook (England, paragraph 2.26), and you cannot be paid unsocial hours and an on-call payment for the same hours (paragraph 2.9). When you are called in and work, the rules for unsocial hours enhancements apply to those hours. At Bands 5 to 7 in England, that is time plus 30% for Saturdays and weekday hours between 8pm and 6am, and time plus 60% on Sundays and public holidays. Enhancements are calculated on basic pay and exclude High Cost Area Supplement. Overtime applies at Bands 1 to 7. See NHS on-call payments explained and standby payments explained.

In Scotland, the pay table above uses Scotland's figures, the full-time week became 36 hours from 1 April 2026, and on-call arrangements follow a Scottish circular rather than the English local-agreement wording. Unsocial hours percentages at Band 4 and above are the same as England's. Wales has its own scales; see NHS Wales pay scales. The rota take-home calculator models a shift pattern.

Worked example: take-home pay for a cardiac physiologist

Using the same 2026/27 Income Tax, National Insurance and NHS Pension Scheme rules as our NHS Pay Calculator, here is what a full-time cardiac physiologist on the England scale takes home outside a High Cost Area Supplement zone, before any unsocial hours enhancements.

Why you can trust these cardiac physiologist pay figures

• ✓ Every band and pay point comes from the published 2026/27 Agenda for Change tables, not from job adverts.
• ✓ Facts about training, registration and progression are checked against the sources listed below, and the date is shown at the top.
• ✓ No NHS, DHSC or trust affiliation: an independent reference, not official guidance.

Sources: NHS Careers: cardiac sciences; NHS Careers: how to become a healthcare science professional; Academy for Healthcare Science: accredited registers; HCPC: the professions we regulate; Royal Devon University Healthcare: senior cardiac physiologist advert (2026); NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook (Sections 2 and 3, Annex 29); NHS Scotland Agenda for Change Handbook (updated 2026), Sections 2 and 10. Last checked October 2026.

More on pay and the tools that go with it