Apprentice Assistant Practitioner

University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust

Bristol (BS2 8HW)

Closes in 7 days (Thursday 16 April 2026)

Posted on 9 April 2026

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Summary

Join Speech & Language Therapy and Nutrition & Dietetics at Bristol Royal Infirmary as an Apprentice Assistant Practitioner. This funded two‑year Level 5 Foundation Degree (from Autumn 2026) offers clinical experience, study time, professional support, and progression to a Band 4 role.

• Wage:

  £25,760 a year

  Check minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)

  Salary: £25,760 – £27,476 per annum, pro rata; ; ;

• Training course: Assistant practitioner (health) (level 5)
• Hours: Full time. Includes one Saturday every 8 weeks within the Dietetic rota. Days and times to be confirmed.

  37 hours 30 minutes a week

• Start date:

  Tuesday 1 September 2026

• Duration:

  4 years

• Positions available:

  1

Work

Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.

What you'll do at work

Main duties of the job:

• Undertake nutritional and dysphagia risk screening (e.g. MUST) and escalate concerns appropriately
• Support patients to meet their nutritional needs, following dietary and dysphagia guidance
• Assist patients with communication difficulties under the guidance of Speech & Language Therapists
• Contribute to the safe management of special diets and food allergies
• Support the implementation and review of patient care and therapy plans
• Maintain stock levels of patient information resources
• Work closely with the multidisciplinary team to support patient care and discharge planning

Where you'll work

Bristol Royal Infirmary
Marlborough Street
Bristol
BS2 8HW

Training

Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.

Training provider

WESTON COLLEGE OF FURTHER AND HIGHER EDUCATION

Training course

Assistant practitioner (health) (level 5)

Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)

What you'll learn

Course contents

• Work in line with legislation, policies, standards and codes of conduct that apply to own role
• Work within the scope of practice, the limits of own knowledge and skills, escalating and reporting to others when needed
• Work in partnership with others to champion safe, equitable, non-discriminatory person-centred care and support for individuals
• Promote and maintain the principles of a duty of care, safeguarding and protection, always acting in the best interest of individuals and working across organisations and with other agencies to ensure they do not come to harm
• Undertake and monitor physiological, technical and psychological measurements using the appropriate equipment and tools within scope of own practice
• Select and use the correct equipment and tools to undertake timely assessment of an individual's physical and mental healthcare status within own scope of practice
• Recognise and respond to an individual in pain, distress or discomfort
• Interpret results of assessment in the context of the individual’s health and wellbeing, making appropriate changes or recommendations to the care plan within scope of own practice or escalating in line with local protocol
• Support individuals with nutrition and fluids in line with their care needs, taking action as required
• Undertake evidence-based clinical, diagnostic or therapeutic interventions delegated by a registered healthcare professional in line with scope of practice, and standard operating procedures
• Monitor and review the impact of clinical, diagnostic or therapeutic interventions on an individual’s health and well-being
• Record and store information related to individuals securely and in line with local and national policies, including the safe use of technology
• Report and share information related to individuals securely and in line with local and national policies, maintaining confidentiality
• Delegate work to colleagues in the multi-disciplinary team and engage in supervision
• Liaise with the multidisciplinary team to prioritise and manage own workload
• Communicate with individuals, their families, carers and health and care professionals using techniques designed to maximise understanding
• Promote the use of digital solutions to improve communication systems and practices
• Recognise and respond to limitations in an individual’s mental capacity
• Participate in training and development activities and evaluate the impact of learning on own practice
• Seek out and respond to feedback and engage in appraisals
• Reflect on own practice to improve practice
• Provide leadership and act as a role model for others within the scope of own role
• Identify learning and development needs of others
• Teach, coach and mentor others and confirm that learning needs have been met
• Actively seek out and act on opportunities to support individuals to maximise their health and well-being within the scope of the role
• Promote preventative health behaviours and support individuals to make informed choices to improve their health and wellbeing within the scope of the role
• Conduct and record risk assessments relevant to the activity and scope of own practice
• Uphold the principles of duty of candour, identifying and managing challenging situations, unsafe work practices and addressing comments, compliments, conflict and complaints
• Maintain a safe and healthy working environment for self and others, using techniques for infection prevention and control, including the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and supporting others to comply with policy and procedures
• Move and assist individuals, equipment and other items safely
• Participate in and support others in audit and quality improvement activities in the workplace
• Conduct research activity within the scope of own role and act on the findings
• Identify opportunities to improve quality in the workplace and contribute to local, regional and national quality improvement initiatives
• Work in line with legislation, policies, standards and codes of conduct that apply to own role
• Work within the scope of practice, the limits of own knowledge and skills, escalating and reporting to others when needed
• Work in partnership with others to champion safe, equitable, non-discriminatory person-centred care and support for individuals
• Promote and maintain the principles of a duty of care, safeguarding and protection, always acting in the best interest of individuals and working across organisations and with other agencies to ensure they do not come to harm
• Undertake and monitor physiological, technical and psychological measurements using the appropriate equipment and tools within scope of own practice
• Select and use the correct equipment and tools to undertake timely assessment of an individual's physical and mental healthcare status within own scope of practice
• Recognise and respond to an individual in pain, distress or discomfort
• Interpret results of assessment in the context of the individual’s health and wellbeing, making appropriate changes or recommendations to the care plan within scope of own practice or escalating in line with local protocol
• Support individuals with nutrition and fluids in line with their care needs, taking action as required
• Undertake evidence-based clinical, diagnostic or therapeutic interventions delegated by a registered healthcare professional in line with scope of practice, and standard operating procedures
• Monitor and review the impact of clinical, diagnostic or therapeutic interventions on an individual’s health and well-being
• Record and store information related to individuals securely and in line with local and national policies, including the safe use of technology
• Report and share information related to individuals securely and in line with local and national policies, maintaining confidentiality
• Delegate work to colleagues in the multi-disciplinary team and engage in supervision
• Liaise with the multidisciplinary team to prioritise and manage own workload
• Communicate with individuals, their families, carers and health and care professionals using techniques designed to maximise understanding
• Promote the use of digital solutions to improve communication systems and practices
• Recognise and respond to limitations in an individual’s mental capacity
• Participate in training and development activities and evaluate the impact of learning on own practice
• Seek out and respond to feedback and engage in appraisals
• Reflect on own practice to improve practice
• Provide leadership and act as a role model for others within the scope of own role
• Identify learning and development needs of others
• Teach, coach and mentor others and confirm that learning needs have been met
• Actively seek out and act on opportunities to support individuals to maximise their health and well-being within the scope of the role
• Promote preventative health behaviours and support individuals to make informed choices to improve their health and wellbeing within the scope of the role
• Conduct and record risk assessments relevant to the activity and scope of own practice
• Uphold the principles of duty of candour, identifying and managing challenging situations, unsafe work practices and addressing comments, compliments, conflict and complaints
• Maintain a safe and healthy working environment for self and others, using techniques for infection prevention and control, including the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and supporting others to comply with policy and procedures
• Move and assist individuals, equipment and other items safely
• Participate in and support others in audit and quality improvement activities in the workplace
• Conduct research activity within the scope of own role and act on the findings
• Identify opportunities to improve quality in the workplace and contribute to local, regional and national quality improvement initiatives

Training schedule

• Four days per week in clinical practice
• One dedicated study day per week
• Independent study outside working hours required
• Regular supervision and support from experienced clinicians
• Completion of a Level 5 Foundation Degree over two years

Requirements

Essential qualifications

GCSE in:

Maths and English (grade C/4 or above)

Other in:

Any (grade Pass)

Desirable qualifications

Other in:

Care Certificate (grade Level 1)

Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.

Skills

• Communication skills
• IT skills
• Attention to detail
• Organisation skills
• Customer care skills
• Problem solving skills
• Administrative skills
• Number skills
• Analytical skills
• Team working
• Initiative
• Non judgemental
• Patience

Other requirements

• Aged 18 or over due to the nature of the role
• Lived in the UK/EEA for the past 3 years
• Legal right to work and study in the UK for the duration of the apprenticeship
• Not enrolled on another government-funded programme
• Must not already hold a qualification in the same subject at the same level or above
• Ability to manage work and independent study commitments
• Fluent English to an appropriate standard

About this employer

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) is the newly merged Trust comprising University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust and Weston Area Health NHS Trust. Bringing together a combined workforce of over 13,000 staff, the new Trust delivers over 100 different clinical services across 10 different sites serving a core population of more than 500,000 people.

Company benefits

Benefits include NHS employment benefits, supervision, training, wellbeing support, and career development opportunities.

Disability Confident

A fair proportion of interviews for this apprenticeship will be offered to applicants with a disability or long-term health condition. This includes non-visible disabilities and conditions.

You can choose to be considered for an interview under the Disability Confident scheme. You’ll need to meet the essential requirements to be considered for an interview.

After this apprenticeship

Pathway to a Band 4 Assistant Practitioner role, subject to successful completion and required performance.

Ask a question

The contact for this apprenticeship is:

University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust

Samantha-Marie Newport

samantha-marie.newport@uhbw.nhs.uk

01173427360

The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC2000025619.

Apply now

Closes in 7 days (Thursday 16 April 2026)

After signing in, you’ll apply for this apprenticeship on the company's website.