We have led national efforts to establish and advance recognition of Clinical Exercise Physiologists (CEPs) in the UK. This work included forming Clinical Exercise Physiology UK (CEP-UK) as a specialist group within the Chartered Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (CASES).
CEP-UK acts as the lead advisor to the Academy for Healthcare Science (AHCS) and its registered members on the standards for education, training, and professional practice required to qualify and practise as a Clinical Exercise Physiologist.
As part of this work, we have pioneered on the development of key professional infrastructure for the UK CEP workforce. This includes the establishment of AHCS-accredited MSc programmes in Clinical Exercise Physiology, aligned to nationally defined scope of practice, curriculum framework, and education and training standards that outline the knowledge, clinical competencies, and professional behaviours required for safe and effective practice.
LJMU lead the way to become the first AHCS accredited MSc Clinical Exercise Physiology in the country. In addition, an AHCS equivalence pathway has been developed to enable experienced practitioners to demonstrate that their training, qualifications, and professional experience meet the standards required for registration as a CEP.
CEPs are now recognised as part of the UK healthcare science workforce, and CEP-UK represents the profession as a member of the AHCS Professional Bodies Council.
Alongside these developments, we have published a national call to action and subsequent progress reports outlining the pathway toward establishing clinical exercise physiology as a recognised healthcare profession in the UK.
The funding from Research England also supported a programme of research examining the development and function of the Clinical Exercise Physiologist (CEP) profession in the UK.
This work has mapped existing clinical exercise services and explored how CEP-led models operate across healthcare settings, including cardiac rehabilitation and cancer services, providing insights into service structures, workforce roles, and required qualifications.
Further studies gathered perspectives from multiple stakeholders to understand the perceived value, scope of practice, and integration of CEPs within the UK health system.
Complementary research has also examined how CEP competencies are developed through postgraduate education, specifically investigating how knowledge, skills, and professional standards are taught and assessed within Academy for Healthcare Science (AHCS)–accredited MSc programmes.
Together, this body of work has helped define the knowledge, skills, and professional standards required for CEP practice in the UK and has informed ongoing evaluation and refinement of these standards to ensure they remain fit for purpose as the profession continues to develop.
We are also pioneering the development of new clinical exercise services to improve access to Clinical Exercise Physiologists for people living with long-term conditions.
Through an Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Central Liverpool Primary Care Network, a number of Clinical Exercise Physiologists have been employed within the PCN to deliver evidence-based exercise interventions for patients with multiple long-term conditions.
The service is being iteratively evaluated to assess its feasibility and acceptability in a primary care setting, while also examining its social and economic value.
The findings will inform the development of a blueprint for other Primary Care Networks, supporting national dissemination and advocacy for the integration of Clinical Exercise Physiologists within primary care services across the UK.
At LJMU, we have also created a Clinical Exercise Physiology (CEP) Clinic, that provides a community-based service delivering individualised, evidence-based exercise programmes for people with long-term conditions, helping bridge gaps between community health, rehabilitation and preventative care while supporting the NHS.
The clinic also supports BSc Sport and Exercise Science and MSc Clinical Exercise Physiology placements, giving students supervised, hands-on experience with real patients. This model strengthens clinical training, supports workforce development, and delivers health and wellbeing benefits to the university community.
