Photo: John Welford · CC BY-SA 2.0Life expectancy in Ely runs ahead of the figure across England: 82.2 for men and 86.3 for women
Across England the figures for 2019 to 2023 are 79.1 and 83.0. Ely grades A− for health: life expectancy, healthy life expectancy, early deaths, hospital admissions, child obesity and Census health, each adjusted for age; #14 of 50 in Cambridgeshire.
What stands out about health in Ely
Patients rate Ely’s GP practices above England’s
In the 2026 GP Patient Survey, 87% of patients at Ely’s 2 practices called their overall experience good, against 77% across England, and 61% found it easy to get through by phone (57% in England). That is ahead of 79% of English towns. GP practices ↓
A&E waits run longer than England’s
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the A&E at Addenbrooke's and the Rosie Hospitals, saw 56% of major-A&E patients within four hours in the 12 months to September 2026, against 61% across England: 77th of 117 trusts. 17% of patients admitted through its A&Es waited more than 12 hours from the decision to admit, against 13% in England. A&E ↓
Fewer of Ely’s children are obese
14% of Year 6 children (aged 10 to 11) were measured as obese over the last three school years, against 22.3% across England; fewer than in 82% of UK towns. Health Grade ↓
Men live longer lives than Ely’s level of deprivation would suggest
13% of Ely’s residents are income-deprived. Across England’s towns that predicts men’s life expectancy of 81.1; Ely’s is 82.2. For its circumstances ↓
Written from the OHID, NHS England and GP Patient Survey figures on this page. Life expectancy covers 2019 to 2023; neighbourhoods are ONS middle-layer areas of about 8,000 people.
Ely grades A− for health
Healthier than 81% of UK towns, on age-adjusted measures.
Ahead of the typical UK town on every measure. Even its weakest, women’s years in good health and disability, are in the top 40% of UK towns; women’s life expectancy and emergency admissions lead. Among the 377 UK towns of 13,000 to 26,000 people, Ely’s Health Grade is the 43rd highest.
Each measure is ranked against every UK town of 1,000 or more, the ranks are averaged, and the average is ranked again. Every measure allows for the town’s ages: life expectancy is worked out from the death rate at each age, so it doesn’t depend on how old the town’s residents are; deaths and admissions are counted against what England’s rates would give a town with these ages, and the Census answers against England and Wales’s rates by single year of age, so a seaside town of retired people isn’t marked down for being old.
87% of patients rate Ely’s 2 GP practices good
GP Patient Survey 2026 (NHS England, run by Ipsos), about 100 patients a practice, against 77% across England. 40th of 291 English towns of 13,000 to 26,000, from the highest.
| Practice | Overall experience | Easy by phone | Wait about right | CQC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Mary's Surgery CB7 4HF · 15,438 adult patients | 88% good · range 75%–95% | 55% | 73% | Good2019 |
| Cathedral Medical Centre CB6 1DN · 9,149 adult patients | 83% good · range 77%–88% | 70% | 84% | Good2017 |
You can register with any practice whose area covers your address.
GP Patient Survey 2026: surveys sent January to March 2026; results weighted by NHS England. The range is the 95% confidence interval. Adult patients: the survey’s practice population aged 16 and over. A practice counts as in Ely when its main surgery is inside the built-up area; branch surgeries are part of their main practice. CQC ratings © Care Quality Commission.
Cambridge University Hospitals saw 56% of major-A&E patients within four hours
Type 1 (major) A&E attendances seen, admitted or discharged within four hours of arrival, by month. NHS England publishes it by trust, not hospital: Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust runs the A&E at Addenbrooke's and the Rosie Hospitals, the nearest to Ely (17 mi).
The share seen within four hours slipped from an average of 60% in April 2025 to September 2025 to 54% in the latest six months; England’s was 62%. Long waits for a bed are commoner than at 66% of trusts: 5,589 patients in 12 months, 17% of emergency admissions through A&E. CQC’s latest ratings for Addenbrooke's and the Rosie Hospitals: urgent and emergency services requires improvement (2022), the hospital overall good (2023).
East of England trusts
Hospitals within 25 miles
| Distance | Hospital | CQC overall | Urgent & emergency |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.9 mi | CPFT at Princess of Wales Hospital Ely · Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | — |
| 0.9 mi | Princess of Wales Hospital Ely · Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | — |
| 11 mi | CPFT at Doddington Hospital March · Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | — |
| 12 mi | Newmarket Hospital Newmarket · West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust | Good2016 | — |
| 15 mi | CPFT at Brookfields Hospital Cambridge · Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | — |
| 17 mi | Addenbrooke's and the Rosie Hospitals A&E Cambridge · Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | Good2023 | Requires improvement2022 |
| 17 mi | Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Cambridge · Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust | Outstanding2019 | — |
| 19 mi | CPFT at North Cambridgeshire Hospital Wisbech · Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | — |
NHS acute hospitals registered with the Care Quality Commission (care directory, 01 October 2026). “A&E” marks a major (type 1) emergency department, open 24 hours and led by consultants, in NHS England’s Emergency Care Data Set; a hospital without the mark may still have a minor injury unit or urgent treatment centre. Ratings run Outstanding, Good, Requires improvement, Inadequate; the year is when each was published. Distances are straight lines from the town centre.
Men’s life expectancy in Ely is 1.1 years above what its level of deprivation predicts
Across 1,996 English towns of 2,500 or more, men’s life expectancy tracks income deprivation closely (correlation −0.81). Each dot is a town.
13% of Ely’s residents are income-deprived, less than in most English towns. For that level, the line predicts 81.1 years for men; Ely’s is 82.2. For women it predicts 84.6, and Ely’s 86.3 is 1.7 years above.
Income deprivation: share of residents in low-income households, English Indices of Deprivation 2025, averaged over each town’s neighbourhoods. A town above or below the line isn’t necessarily doing better or worse on care: students, prisons and hostels inside a boundary all shift the figures.
Care in and near Ely
The nearest A&E, the practice patients rate highest, and where to go when it’s urgent but not an emergency. In an emergency, call 999.
81% of adults in the Central East area who tried got an NHS dental appointment
Adults who tried to get an NHS dental appointment for themselves in the last two years, and got one. GP Patient Survey 2026, by integrated care system (the NHS area that plans dentistry for Ely).
Across England 82% of those who tried got an appointment. Of Central East patients who did, 73% rated the experience good (England 74%). NHS practices taking new patients are listed on the NHS website’s Find a dentist; for urgent dental pain, call NHS 111.
The survey asks GP patients about dentistry, so results are published for health areas, not towns or practices.
84% of residents say their health is good or very good
Census 2021, all residents, as answered (not adjusted for age).
Adjusted for age, 69 report bad health for every 100 expected, fewer than the national rate.
Show as a table
| Census 2021 | Ely | Cambridgeshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 84% | 82% |
| Fair health | 12% | 12% | 13% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.8% | 4.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled under the Equality Act | 16% | 16% | 17% |
| Day-to-day activities limited a lot | 5.6% | 6.2% | 7.4% |
Cambridgeshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas (towns and cities), from the same Census 2021 output areas.
Ely’s Health Grade is 43rd of 377 UK towns of 13,000 to 26,000
Ordered by Health Grade: the top three, the towns either side of Ely, and others in Cambridgeshire. Life expectancy for men / women; deaths under 75 per 100 expected.
| # | Town | People | Life expectancy | Deaths under 75 | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hale Greater Manchester | 16,716 | 83.3 / 86.4 | 58 | A+ |
| 2 | Amersham Buckinghamshire | 17,377 | 83.1 / 86.5 | 60 | A+ |
| 3 | Great Bookham and Fetcham Surrey | 21,655 | 83.4 / 87.3 | 58 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 41 | South Woodham Ferrers Essex | 16,029 | 81.2 / 84.2 | 73 | A− |
| 42 | Ingleby Barwick North Yorkshire | 23,380 | 81.4 / 83.2 | 54 | A− |
| 43 | Ely Cambridgeshire | 19,185 | 82.2 / 86.3 | 71 | A− |
| 44 | Kesgrave Suffolk | 14,947 | 81.8 / 85.5 | 72 | A− |
| 45 | Lee-on-the-Solent Hampshire | 24,307 | 81.7 / 84.9 | 67 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 81 | St Ives Cambridgeshire | 16,818 | 82.4 / 85.6 | 84 | B |
| … | |||||
| 190 | Whittlesey Cambridgeshire | 13,833 | 78.7 / 83.2 | 100 | C |
| … | |||||
| 244 | March Cambridgeshire | 21,345 | 79.2 / 82.4 | 112 | C− |
| … | |||||
| 377 | Bellshill North Lanarkshire | 19,488 | 73.1 / 77.9 | — | D− |
Health letters rank against every UK town of 1,000 or more; the order here is context only. Welsh towns are graded on life expectancy, healthy life expectancy and the two Census measures: OHID’s early-death, admissions and child-obesity figures cover England.
Health in the places around Ely
Life expectancy for men / women, and the nearest A&E. Tap a town for its health page.
| Town | People | Life expectancy | Nearest A&E | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ely | 19,185 | 82.2 / 86.3 | 17 mi | A− |
| Little Downham | 1,234 | 82.1 / 83.9 | 18 mi | B+ |
| Witchford | 2,386 | 82.1 / 85.5 | 15 mi | B+ |
| Littleport | 9,170 | 79.7 / 82.4 | 21 mi | C |
| Stretham | 2,070 | 82.1 / 85.5 | 12 mi | B+ |
| Soham | 10,609 | 79.4 / 83.6 | 14 mi | C+ |
| Haddenham | 3,050 | 82.1 / 85.5 | 13 mi | B+ |
| Sutton | 3,880 | 82.1 / 83.9 | 14 mi | B+ |
Soham, 5.5 miles away, has men’s life expectancy of 79.4, 2.8 years shorter than Ely’s.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- A&E figures are for the trust. NHS England publishes four-hour waits by trust, not hospital, so Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s figures cover every major A&E it runs. They count type 1 (major) departments; minor injury units and urgent treatment centres are left out, which is why they sit below the all-types figure NHS England headlines (75% for England).
- The GP survey is a survey. About 100 patients answer for each practice, so a practice’s figure has a range (shown in the table); small differences between practices aren’t meaningful. The town figure weights each practice by its adult patients, some of whom live outside Ely.
- Adjusted for age. A ratio of 100 means as many deaths, admissions or reports of bad health as England’s rates (England and Wales’s for the Census) would give a town with these ages; 120 means a fifth more.
- Small areas, summed to the town. OHID publishes these figures for middle-layer areas of about 8,000 people; the town’s figure averages the areas it covers, weighted by how many of their residents live in it, so a village shares its area’s figure with the countryside around it.
- Different years. Life expectancy and deaths cover 2019 to 2023; emergency admissions 2016/17 to 2020/21 (the latest OHID publishes for small areas, including the pandemic dip); child obesity the three school years to 2024/25; A&E the 12 months to September 2026; the GP Patient Survey early 2026; CQC ratings were published on different dates, shown in each row.
- Distances are straight lines. Miles are measured from the town’s centre to each site; the road is longer. For an emergency, call 999; for urgent advice, call NHS 111.
Questions about health in Ely
How healthy is Ely?
Ely earns an A− for health, healthier than 81% of UK towns on measures adjusted for age, and 43rd of 377 UK towns of its size. Life expectancy is 82.2 for men and 86.3 for women (England 79.1 and 83.0), and there are 71 deaths under 75 for every 100 expected.
How long are A&E waits at Addenbrooke's and the Rosie Hospitals?
NHS England publishes waits for the trust, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. In the 12 months to September 2026 it saw 56% of major-A&E patients within four hours, against 61% across England; in September 2026 the figure was 54%. In an emergency call 999; for urgent advice call NHS 111.
Can I get an NHS dentist in Ely?
In the 2026 GP Patient Survey, 81% of adults in the Central East area who tried to get an NHS dental appointment in the last two years got one, against 82% across England. Practices taking new NHS patients are listed on the NHS website’s Find a dentist service.
How many GP practices are there in Ely?
Ely has 2 GP practices with surgeries inside the town; 2 of the 2 rated by the Care Quality Commission are good or outstanding.
What is the life expectancy in Ely?
82.2 years for men and 86.3 for women, on OHID’s figures for 2019 to 2023. Men can expect 68.8 of those years and women 70.1 in good health.
CQC ratings © Care Quality Commission.
Sources: OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (life expectancy and deaths 2019–23, emergency admissions 2016/17–2020/21, NCMP 2022/23–2024/25); House of Commons Library MSOA names · ONS health state life expectancy for small areas (MSOAs), England and Wales, 2019 to 2023 (healthy life expectancy) · ONS Census 2021 general health and disability, adjusted for age · Care Quality Commission care directory and latest ratings, 01 October 2026 · NHS Organisation Data Service · GP Patient Survey 2026 (NHS England, run by Ipsos) · NHS England, A&E Attendances and Emergency Admissions (monthly, by trust) and Emergency Care Data Set activity by site, June–September 2026 (type 1 A&Es) · MHCLG English Indices of Deprivation 2025 · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.