Photo: John Baker · CC BY-SA 2.0Life expectancy in Ditcheat runs ahead of the figure across England: 83.0 for men and 86.2 for women
For 2019 to 2023, England’s figures are 79.1 and 83.0. Ditcheat has no Health Grade.
What stands out about health in Ditcheat
NHS dentists are harder to get than in most of England
Of adults in the Somerset area who tried to get an NHS dental appointment in the last two years, 65% succeeded, 2nd lowest of England’s 36 health areas; across England it was 82%. Dentists ↓
A&E waits run longer than England’s, but fewer patients wait 12 hours for a bed
Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the A&E at Yeovil District Hospital, saw 51% of major-A&E patients within four hours in the 12 months to September 2026, against 61% across England: 97th of 117 trusts. 3.9% of patients admitted through its A&Es waited more than 12 hours from the decision to admit, against 13% in England. A&E ↓
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.
65% of adults in the Somerset 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 Ditcheat).
Somerset has the 2nd lowest of England’s 36 health areas; across England 82% of those who tried got an appointment. Of Somerset patients who did, 59% 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.
Somerset saw 51% 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: Somerset NHS Foundation Trust runs the A&E at Yeovil District Hospital, the nearest to Ditcheat (13 mi).
The share seen within four hours slipped from an average of 56% in April 2025 to September 2025 to 52% in the latest six months; England’s was 62%. Long waits for a bed are rarer than at 75% of trusts: 1,465 patients in 12 months, 3.9% of emergency admissions through A&E. CQC’s latest ratings for Yeovil District Hospital: urgent and emergency services good (2019).
South West trusts
Hospitals within 25 miles
| Distance | Hospital | CQC overall | Urgent & emergency |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 mi | Yeatman Hospital Sherborne · Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | — |
| 12 mi | Yeatman Hospital Sherborne · Somerset NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | — |
| 12 mi | Frome Birth Centre (Frome Community Hospital) Frome · Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust | Good2024 | — |
| 12 mi | Frome Community Hospital Frome · Somerset NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | — |
| 13 mi | Yeovil District Hospital A&E Yeovil · Somerset NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | Good2019 |
| 19 mi | Bridgwater Community Hospital Bridgwater · Somerset NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | — |
| 20 mi | Royal United Hospital Bath A&E Bath · Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust | Requires improvement2026 | Requires improvement2026 |
| 20 mi | South Bristol NHS Community Hospital Bristol · Bristol NHS Foundation Trust | Good2026 | — |
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.
Care in and near Ditcheat
The nearest A&E, GP practices, and where to go when it’s urgent but not an emergency. In an emergency, call 999.
No GP practice in Ditcheat itself
The nearest practices.
| Practice | Distance | CQC rating |
|---|---|---|
| Millbrook Surgery - Castle Cary Castle Cary BA7 7EE | 2.6 mi | Good2016 |
| Bruton Surgery Bruton BA10 0EG | 3.8 mi | Good2020 |
| Park Medical Practice Shepton Mallet BA4 5RT | 4.3 mi | Good2017 |
| Grove House Surgery Shepton Mallet BA4 5UH | 4.5 mi | Good2019 |
| Oakhill Surgery Radstock BA3 5HT | 6.9 mi | Good2016 |
| Wincanton Health Centre Wincanton BA9 9FQ | 7 mi | Good2019 |
GP practices registered with the Care Quality Commission, placed in the town by their postcode. A practice counts as in Ditcheat 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.
83% of residents say their health is good or very good
Census 2021, all residents, as answered (not adjusted for age).
Adjusted for age, 85 report bad health for every 100 expected, fewer than the national rate.
Show as a table
| Census 2021 | Ditcheat | Somerset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 82% | 82% |
| Fair health | 11% | 13% | 13% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.1% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled under the Equality Act | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Day-to-day activities limited a lot | 6.9% | 7.3% | 7.4% |
Somerset and England: all residents of their built-up areas (towns and cities), from the same Census 2021 output areas.
Health in the places around Ditcheat
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ditcheat | 392 | 83.0 / 86.2 | 13 mi | — |
| Evercreech | 2,165 | 81.4 / 82.7 | 15 mi | B− |
| Castle Cary | 3,451 | 80.1 / 85.1 | 11 mi | B+ |
| Pilton | 1,104 | 83.0 / 86.2 | 15 mi | A+ |
| Bruton | 2,816 | 79.5 / 89.1 | 14 mi | A− |
| Shepton Mallet | 9,645 | 78.8 / 83.3 | 15 mi | C+ |
| Keinton Mandeville | 1,216 | 80.1 / 85.1 | 8.9 mi | B+ |
| Wincanton | 6,744 | 81.2 / 86.1 | 12 mi | B− |
Shepton Mallet, 4.6 miles away, has men’s life expectancy of 78.8, 4.2 years shorter than Ditcheat’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 Somerset 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 Ditcheat
How long are A&E waits at Yeovil District Hospital?
NHS England publishes waits for the trust, Somerset NHS Foundation Trust. In the 12 months to September 2026 it saw 51% of major-A&E patients within four hours, against 61% across England; in September 2026 the figure was 52%. In an emergency call 999; for urgent advice call NHS 111.
Can I get an NHS dentist in Ditcheat?
It is harder than in most of England. In the 2026 GP Patient Survey, 65% of adults in the Somerset 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 Ditcheat?
There’s no GP surgery inside Ditcheat itself; the nearest is about 2.6 mi away.
What is the life expectancy in Ditcheat?
83.0 years for men and 86.2 for women, on OHID’s figures for 2019 to 2023. Men can expect 71.9 of those years and women 73.4 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.