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01  Voice · Regulator · Dentistry access

Jonathan Higman: no photograph is held, so the NHS Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire ICB, NHS Dorset ICB and NHS Somerset ICB (ICB cluster) monogram is shown instead.
Regulator

Jonathan Higman

Chief Executive Officer (joint chief executive of the BSW, Dorset and Somerset ICB cluster), NHS Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire ICB, NHS Dorset ICB and NHS Somerset ICB (ICB cluster)

Press coverage by month · bar height shows relative volume
Dec 2025Jan 2026FebMarAprMayJuneJulyAugSeptOctNovto date
1

Quoted in the press, across 1 topic since 5 Dec 2025

02  Quoted on · 1 of 29 topics

Open the topic

Jonathan Higman: key facts

Kind of voice
Regulator
Role
Chief Executive Officer (joint chief executive of the BSW, Dorset and Somerset ICB cluster)
Organisation
NHS Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire ICB, NHS Dorset ICB and NHS Somerset ICB (ICB cluster)
Quoted on
Dentistry access
Press coverage
Quoted in the press
Most recently quoted
6 Dec 2025
First quoted
5 Dec 2025

03  Profile

Who Jonathan Higman is

Jonathan Higman is chief executive of the cluster of three integrated care boards covering Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire (BSW), Dorset, and Somerset. He was appointed to the cluster role in September 2025.

He became Chief Executive of NHS Somerset when that ICB was established in 2022, and the press still often describes him by that title. Before that he was Chief Executive of Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. He joined its board in 2009, became acting chief executive in 2017 and was appointed substantively in 2019.

NHS Somerset says he led the trust to its merger with Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, which created England's first fully integrated foundation trust. His stated priorities in Somerset have included neighbourhood models of support, shifting care closer to people's homes, and collaboration across health, care, community and voluntary sector partners.

Notable achievements

  1. 01

    Appointed Chief Executive of the new ICB cluster covering BSW, Dorset and Somerset in September 2025. Source ↗

  2. 02

    Became Chief Executive of NHS Somerset when the Integrated Care Board was established in 2022. Source ↗

  3. 03

    As Chief Executive of Yeovil District Hospital NHS FT, led the organisation through the COVID pandemic and its merger with Somerset NHS FT, creating England's first fully integrated foundation trust. Source ↗

04  The signal · where Jonathan Higman sits on dentistry access

Quoted

Quoted in the press on dentistry access.

Placed by press coverage on this topic only, not across all topics.

  1. Eddie Crouch portraitEddie CrouchUnionChair of the Principal Executive Committee (BDA Chair), British Dental AssociationLeading
  2. Shiv Pabary portraitShiv PabaryClinicianChair, General Dental Practice Committee, British Dental AssociationLeading
  3. Jason Wong portraitJason WongRegulatorChief Dental Officer for England, NHS England (joint appointment with the Department of Health and Social Care, based in NHS England)Leading
  4. Adam WrightClinicianDr, owner and principal dentist, West End Dental and Implant Practice
  5. Franziska MarcheselliSector leaderResearch director at the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen)
  6. Jonathan HigmanRegulatorChief Executive Officer (joint chief executive of the BSW, Dorset and Somerset ICB cluster), NHS Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire ICB, NHS Dorset ICB and NHS Somerset ICB (ICB cluster)
  7. Professor Martin Green OBE portraitProfessor Martin Green OBESector leaderChief Executive, Care England
  8. Sir Chris Whitty portraitSir Chris WhittyRegulatorChief Medical Officer for England and Chief Medical Adviser to the UK Government, Department of Health and Social Care

Showing the leading voices and those placed around Jonathan Higman · See every voice on the topic →

05  On the record · press

What Jonathan Higman has said

By outlet · bar length shows relative volume
  • chardandilminsternews.co.uk
  • somersetcountygazette.co.uk

Where Jonathan Higman has been quoted

  1. New NHS dentistry practice opened on outskirts of Wellingtonsomersetcountygazette.co.uk · 6 Dec 2025
  2. New Somerset NHS dentist opens in Chard - and takes on 8000 patientschardandilminsternews.co.uk · 5 Dec 2025

How we found the articles that name Jonathan Higman: we searched news for these terms.

  • NHS dentistry
  • NHS dentist
  • dental access
  • dentist shortage
  • dental desert
  • dental contract
  • dental charges
  • dental check-up

Also searched with “NHS dentistry” in each of 8 national papers, and in the Guardian by editor tag, and in trade press by category. Every term for Dentistry access

Verbatim

“Good oral health is a fundamental to the overall well-being of our communities, yet access to NHS dental services remains a significant challenge.”
Chief Executive of NHS Somerset · Dentistry access · somersetcountygazette.co.uk · 6 Dec 2025 · Read the article
“Good oral health is a fundamental to the overall wellbeing of our communities, yet access to NHS dental services remains a significant challenge.”
chief executive of NHS Somerset · Dentistry access · chardandilminsternews.co.uk · 5 Dec 2025 · Read the article

Related media coverage

Recent UK press coverage of their topics, not necessarily citing them directly.

06  Sources

References for this biography

  1. Jonathan Higman - Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire ICB. Current cluster CEO role, career history at Yeovil District Hospital NHS FT and NHS Somerset, the merger, and his degree from the University of Reading.
  2. Cluster update from Jonathan Higman (NHS Dorset, 20 March 2026). Appointment as single cluster Chief Executive in September 2025.
  3. Jonathan Higman - Chief Executive - NHS Somerset ICB. Earlier NHS Somerset profile covering his experience in commissioning and provider organisations and the Yeovil/Somerset FT merger.
  4. Newly Formed Integrated Care Board Cluster welcomes its Chief Executive and Chair. His focus at NHS Somerset on neighbourhood models, care closer to home, financial balance and national targets.
  5. Two Somerset NHS trusts merge to create unique NHS trust. He was quoted as chief executive of NHS Somerset on the April 2023 trust merger.
  6. Jonathan Higman (@jonathanhigman) on X. X account whose profile reads Chief Executive, NHS Somerset and links to nhssomerset.nhs.uk. Posts are about NHS Somerset work.

07  Contact & links

X
x.com/jonathanhigman
Staff page
bsw.icb.nhs.uk/team-members/jonathan-higman
Staff page
nhssomerset.nhs.uk/news/team_members/jonathan-higman

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.

Named officials of regulators, arms-length bodies and public agencies such as the CQC, NHS England or a local authority association. Citations are counted by an automated scan of UK press coverage and may be incomplete. Roles, biographies and contact details are researched and human-reviewed before they appear here; anything not yet reviewed is simply absent rather than shown unverified. This profile was last updated on 3 Nov 2026. See the methodology for how this page is built, or email contact@bridgeheadcommunications.com to correct anything on it.