Photo: Glyn Baker · CC BY-SA 2.0Life expectancy in Downham runs ahead of the figure across England: 80.6 for men and 85.9 for women
For 2019 to 2023, England’s figures are 79.1 and 83.0. Downham has no Health Grade.
Care in and near Downham
The nearest A&E, GP practices, and where to go when it’s urgent but not an emergency. In an emergency, call 999.
Mid and South Essex saw 63% 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: Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust runs the A&E at Basildon University Hospital, the nearest to Downham (5.8 mi).
The share seen within four hours slipped from an average of 70% in April 2025 to September 2025 to 65% in the latest six months; England’s was 62%. Long waits for a bed are close to the typical trust’s: 12,053 patients in 12 months, 11% of emergency admissions through A&E. CQC’s latest ratings for Basildon University Hospital: urgent and emergency services inadequate (2025), the hospital overall inadequate (2025).
East of England trusts
Hospitals within 25 miles
| Distance | Hospital | CQC overall | Urgent & emergency |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.8 mi | Basildon University Hospital A&E Basildon · Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust | Inadequate2025 | Inadequate2025 |
| 9.5 mi | Broomfield Hospital A&E Chelmsford · Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust | Requires improvement2025 | Not rated |
| 10 mi | St Peter's Hospital Maldon · Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | — |
| 10 mi | Southend University Hospital A&E Westcliff On Sea · Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust | Requires improvement2025 | Not rated |
| 10 mi | Orsett Hospital Grays · Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | — |
| 12 mi | Thurrock Community Hospital Grays · North East London NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | — |
| 14 mi | Queen's Hospital A&E Romford · Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust | Requires improvement2025 | Requires improvement2023 |
| 17 mi | King George Hospital A&E Ilford · Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust | Requires improvement2023 | Requires improvement2023 |
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.
No GP practice in Downham itself
The nearest practices.
| Practice | Distance | CQC rating |
|---|---|---|
| Swanwood Partnership Wickford SS12 0AG | 2.1 mi | Good2024 |
| The London Road Surgery Wickford SS12 0AA | 2.1 mi | Good2021 |
| Stock Surgery Ingatestone CM4 9NF | 2.6 mi | Good2025 |
| Billericay Medical Practice Billericay CM12 0BJ | 3 mi | Good2026 |
| The New Surgery Billericay CM12 0AH | 3.1 mi | Good2024 |
| Robert Frew Medical Partners Wickford SS12 9NR | 3.1 mi | Good2017 |
GP practices registered with the Care Quality Commission, placed in the town by their postcode. A practice counts as in Downham when its surgery is inside the built-up area; branch surgeries are part of their main practice. You can register with any practice whose area covers your address.
85% of adults in the Essex 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 Downham).
Across England 82% of those who tried got an appointment. Of Essex patients who did, 79% 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.
More people in Downham call their health good than across Essex
Census 2021, all residents, as answered (not adjusted for age).
Adjusted for age, 64 report bad health for every 100 expected, fewer than the national rate.
Show as a table
| Census 2021 | Downham | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 88% | 83% | 82% |
| Fair health | 8.6% | 12% | 13% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.9% | 4.8% | 5.2% |
| Disabled under the Equality Act | 13% | 17% | 17% |
| Day-to-day activities limited a lot | 5% | 6.9% | 7.4% |
Essex and England: all residents of their built-up areas (towns and cities), from the same Census 2021 output areas.
Health in the places around Downham
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downham | 359 | 80.6 / 85.9 | 5.8 mi | — |
| Ramsden Heath | 1,949 | 80.6 / 85.9 | 5.4 mi | A− |
| Runwell | 8,086 | 81.2 / 82.5 | 5.4 mi | C+ |
| Wickford | 27,533 | 80.9 / 85.0 | 4.8 mi | B |
| Crays Hill | 1,218 | 81.5 / 85.4 | 3.1 mi | B+ |
| Stock | 1,573 | 80.6 / 85.9 | 7.3 mi | A− |
| Billericay | 34,068 | 82.9 / 86.5 | 5.1 mi | A |
| Galleywood | 6,410 | 81.6 / 84.8 | 5.3 mi | B+ |
Billericay, 3.1 miles away, has men’s life expectancy of 82.9, 2.3 years longer than Downham’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 Mid and South Essex 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).
- 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 Downham
How long are A&E waits at Basildon University Hospital?
NHS England publishes waits for the trust, Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust. In the 12 months to September 2026 it saw 63% of major-A&E patients within four hours, against 61% across England; in September 2026 the figure was 62%. In an emergency call 999; for urgent advice call NHS 111.
Can I get an NHS dentist in Downham?
In the 2026 GP Patient Survey, 85% of adults in the Essex 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 Downham?
There’s no GP surgery inside Downham itself; the nearest is about 2.1 mi away.
What is the life expectancy in Downham?
80.6 years for men and 85.9 for women, on OHID’s figures for 2019 to 2023. Men can expect 70.5 of those years and women 74.0 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.