Photo: Bikeboy · CC BY-SA 2.0People in Debenham live longer than in 90% of UK towns: 82.8 for men and 87.5 for women
For 2019 to 2023, England’s figures are 79.1 and 83.0. Debenham grades A for health: life expectancy, healthy life expectancy, early deaths, hospital admissions, child obesity and Census health, each adjusted for age.
What stands out about health in Debenham
A&E waits run longer than England’s
East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the A&E at Ipswich Hospital, saw 56% of major-A&E patients within four hours in the 12 months to September 2026, against 61% across England: 74th of 117 trusts. 11% of patients admitted through its A&Es waited more than 12 hours from the decision to admit, against 13% in England. A&E ↓
NHS dentists are harder to get than in most of England
Of adults in the Norfolk and Suffolk area who tried to get an NHS dental appointment in the last two years, 76% succeeded; across England it was 82%. Dentists ↓
Patients rate Debenham’s GP practices above England’s
In the 2026 GP Patient Survey, 88% of patients at Debenham’s one practice called their overall experience good, against 77% across England, and 81% found it easy to get through by phone (57% in England). That is ahead of 82% of English towns. GP practices ↓
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.
Debenham grades A for health
Healthier than 93% of UK towns, on age-adjusted measures.
Ahead of the typical UK town on every measure. Even its weakest, child obesity and Census bad health, are in the top 50% of UK towns; emergency admissions and deaths under 75 lead. Among the 584 UK towns of 2,000 to 3,000 people, Debenham’s Health Grade is the 37th 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.
88% of patients rate Debenham’s GP practice good
GP Patient Survey 2026 (NHS England, run by Ipsos), about 100 patients a practice, against 77% across England. 71st of 155 English towns of 2,000 to 3,000, from the highest.
| Practice | Overall experience | Easy by phone | Wait about right | CQC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debenham Group Practice IP14 6QU · 8,336 adult patients | 88% good · range 81%–92% | 81% | 91% | Good2022 |
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 Debenham when its main surgery is inside the built-up area; branch surgeries are part of their main practice. CQC ratings © Care Quality Commission.
East Suffolk and North Essex 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: East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust runs the A&E at Ipswich Hospital, the nearest to Debenham (12 mi).
The share seen within four hours rose from an average of 52% in April 2025 to September 2025 to 59% in the latest six months; England’s was 62%. Long waits for a bed are close to the typical trust’s: 6,821 patients in 12 months, 11% of emergency admissions through A&E.
East of England trusts
Hospitals within 25 miles
| Distance | Hospital | CQC overall | Urgent & emergency |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 mi | Ipswich Hospital A&E Ipswich · East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | Not rated |
| 12 mi | The Ipswich Hospital Ipswich · East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust | Requires improvement2026 | — |
| 20 mi | West Suffolk Hospital A&E Bury St Edmunds · West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust | Requires improvement2021 | Good2020 |
| 20 mi | West Suffolk Hospital Pathology Services Bury St Edmunds · East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | — |
| 24 mi | Ogden Court Community Hospital Wymondham · East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust | Not rated | — |
| 25 mi | Colchester General Hospital A&E Colchester · East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust | Requires improvement2025 | Requires improvement2025 |
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.
76% of adults in the Norfolk and Suffolk 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 Debenham).
Across England 82% of those who tried got an appointment. Of Norfolk and Suffolk patients who did, 67% 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.
Care in and near Debenham
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.
83% of residents say their health is good or very good
Census 2021, all residents, as answered (not adjusted for age).
Debenham’s residents are older than Suffolk’s (29% are 65 or over, against 23%), which accounts for much of the difference. Adjusted for age, 67 report bad health for every 100 expected, fewer than the national rate.
Show as a table
| Census 2021 | Debenham | Suffolk | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 81% | 82% |
| Fair health | 12% | 14% | 13% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.3% | 5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled under the Equality Act | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Day-to-day activities limited a lot | 7.2% | 7.4% | 7.4% |
Suffolk and England: all residents of their built-up areas (towns and cities), from the same Census 2021 output areas.
Debenham’s Health Grade is 37th of 584 UK towns of 2,000 to 3,000
Ordered by Health Grade: the top three, the towns either side of Debenham, and others in Suffolk. Life expectancy for men / women; deaths under 75 per 100 expected.
| # | Town | People | Life expectancy | Deaths under 75 | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Collingham West Yorkshire | 2,362 | 86.0 / 88.4 | 45 | A+ |
| 2 | Seer Green Buckinghamshire | 2,582 | 83.2 / 87.9 | 55 | A+ |
| 3 | Limpsfield Surrey | 2,247 | 84.1 / 87.2 | 51 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 29 | Capel St Mary Suffolk | 2,992 | 84.3 / 85.5 | 62 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 35 | Charlbury Oxfordshire | 2,810 | 85.1 / 87.7 | 56 | A |
| 36 | Woldingham Surrey | 2,223 | 82.4 / 86.4 | 59 | A |
| 37 | Debenham Suffolk | 2,294 | 82.8 / 87.5 | 53 | A |
| 38 | East Bergholt Suffolk | 2,211 | 84.3 / 85.5 | 62 | A |
| 39 | Christleton and Waverton Cheshire | 2,670 | 84.2 / 83.6 | 57 | A |
| … | |||||
| 43 | Brantham Suffolk | 2,081 | 84.3 / 85.5 | 62 | A |
| … | |||||
| 91 | Holbrook Suffolk | 2,146 | 83.0 / 86.2 | 59 | A |
| … | |||||
| 584 | Fallin Stirling | 2,769 | 71.1 / 75.5 | — | 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 Debenham
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debenham | 2,294 | 82.8 / 87.5 | 12 mi | A |
| Mendlesham | 1,018 | 81.3 / 86.4 | 14 mi | B+ |
| Stowupland | 2,019 | 81.3 / 86.4 | 12 mi | B+ |
| Framlingham | 3,831 | 83.1 / 85.4 | 13 mi | A |
| Eye | 2,211 | 80.4 / 84.7 | 19 mi | B |
| Needham Market | 5,055 | 80.0 / 83.5 | 9.2 mi | B− |
| Bacton and Cotton | 1,567 | 81.3 / 86.4 | 13 mi | A− |
| Stradbroke | 1,190 | 81.5 / 85.4 | 18 mi | A− |
Needham Market, 7.2 miles away, has men’s life expectancy of 80.0, 2.8 years shorter than Debenham’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 East Suffolk and North 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).
- 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 Debenham.
- 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 Debenham
How healthy is Debenham?
Debenham earns an A for health, healthier than 93% of UK towns on measures adjusted for age, and 37th of 584 UK towns of its size. Life expectancy is 82.8 for men and 87.5 for women (England 79.1 and 83.0), and there are 53 deaths under 75 for every 100 expected.
How long are A&E waits at Ipswich Hospital?
NHS England publishes waits for the trust, East Suffolk and North Essex 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 59%. In an emergency call 999; for urgent advice call NHS 111.
Can I get an NHS dentist in Debenham?
It is harder than in most of England. In the 2026 GP Patient Survey, 76% of adults in the Norfolk and Suffolk 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 Debenham?
Debenham has 1 GP practice with surgeries inside the town; 1 of the 1 rated by the Care Quality Commission are good or outstanding.
What is the life expectancy in Debenham?
82.8 years for men and 87.5 for women, on OHID’s figures for 2019 to 2023. Men can expect 71.1 of those years and women 72.7 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.