Photo: Eric Jones · CC BY-SA 2.0Life expectancy in Comber runs ahead of the figure across Northern Ireland’s towns: 80.1 for men and 83.7 for women
These figures are for 2022 to 2024 and the district electoral areas around Comber, against 78.3 and 82.2 across Northern Ireland’s towns. Comber grades C for health: life expectancy, and Census bad health and disability adjusted for age; #4 of 6 in Ards and North Down.
What stands out about health in Comber
Waits at the nearest emergency department run longer than Northern Ireland’s
Ulster Hospital, 4.3 mi from Comber, saw 17% of patients within four hours in the 12 months to June 2026, against 32% across Northern Ireland’s full emergency departments; 33% were there more than 12 hours (22%). The standard is 95% within four hours. A&E ↓
Fewer early deaths from preventable causes
In the district electoral areas around Comber, 140 people in every 100,000 died before 75 from causes public health could largely prevent, such as smoking, alcohol, drugs and some cancers and heart disease (age-standardised, 2020 to 2024): 23% fewer than across Northern Ireland. Against Northern Ireland ↓
None of Comber’s neighbourhoods is among Northern Ireland’s most health-deprived
On NIMDM 2017’s health and disability measure, which combines early deaths, emergency admissions, long-term illness, prescriptions and mental health, none of the 8 small areas that make up Comber is in Northern Ireland’s most deprived fifth. Neighbourhoods ↓
Written from the NISRA, Department of Health and NIMDM figures on this page. Life expectancy covers 2022 to 2024 for the district electoral areas around the town.
Comber grades C for health
Healthier than 30% of UK towns, on age-adjusted measures.
Behind the typical UK town on every measure. Even its strongest, men’s life expectancy and women’s life expectancy, are in the bottom 50% of UK towns; disability and Census bad health are furthest behind. Among the 496 UK towns of 7,000 to 13,000 people, Comber’s Health Grade is the 289th 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; the Census answers are counted against what England and Wales’s rates by single year of age would give a town with these ages, so a seaside town of retired people isn’t marked down for being old.
Northern Ireland towns’ Health Grades use NISRA’s life expectancy for 2022 to 2024 in the district electoral areas around the town, and two Census 2021 measures, bad health and disability, adjusted for age to the same standard as England and Wales. Healthy life expectancy isn’t published for Northern Ireland’s areas, and its early-death, hospital and child-obesity figures cover district electoral areas or council areas rather than small areas, so the Health page compares those with Northern Ireland without grading them.
Ulster Hospital saw 17% of patients within four hours
The nearest full emergency department to Comber, 4.3 mi away: patients seen, admitted or discharged within four hours of arrival, by month, against Northern Ireland’s full emergency departments. The standard is 95%.
Ten years earlier, from July 2016 to June 2017, Ulster Hospital saw 71% of patients within four hours, and 2% stayed more than 12 hours.
Northern Ireland’s full emergency departments, last 12 months
Nearest emergency care
| Nearest emergency care | Distance | Within 4 h, 2025/26 | Over 12 h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ulster Hospital Emergency department | 4.3 mi | 19% | 31% | Directions |
| Ulster Hospital (Urgent Care Centre) Urgent care / minor injuries | 4.3 mi | 79% | 2% | Directions |
| Mater Hospital Emergency department | 8.9 mi | 33% | 16% | Directions |
| Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children Children’s emergency department | 9 mi | 66% | 1% | Directions |
| Royal Victoria Hospital Emergency department | 9 mi | 17% | 30% | Directions |
| Royal Victoria Hospital (Urgent Care Centre) Urgent care / minor injuries | 9 mi | 54% | 4% | Directions |
Urgent care centres and minor injuries units see patients with less serious injuries and illnesses, and most of their patients are seen within four hours; the full emergency departments take the most serious cases and the longest waits. Distances are straight-line from the middle of Comber.
Department of Health (Northern Ireland): emergency care waiting times by department, monthly to June 2026 (NISRA), and emergency care activity 2025/26 (the table), time from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge. Full emergency departments are type 1; the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children is for children only and isn’t ranked.
Around Comber, preventable deaths and treatable deaths compare well with Northern Ireland
Department of Health measures for the district electoral area Comber sits in (about 23,000 people each), weighted by the town’s residents in each; child obesity is for Ards and North Down council. Bars run to the highest of Northern Ireland’s 63 towns; the tick is Northern Ireland.
Department of Health (Northern Ireland), Health and Social Care Inequalities Monitoring System, via the NISRA data portal: deaths 2020–24, admissions 2024/25, prescriptions 2024, dental registrations 2025/26 (BSO; registrations per Census 2021 resident), child BMI 2024/25 (Child Health System). Preventable and treatable deaths follow the OECD/Eurostat lists. Not graded: these are published for areas larger than the town, so neighbouring villages share its figures.
None of Comber’s 8 small areas is among Northern Ireland’s most health-deprived fifth
NIMDM 2017’s health deprivation and disability rank for the 8 small areas (Super Output Areas, about 2,000 people each) that make up Comber: 1st is the most deprived of Northern Ireland’s 890. It combines preventable deaths, emergency admissions, long-term illness, cancer, low birth weight, children’s dental extractions, repeat prescriptions and mental health.
Comber North 1 is Comber’s most health-deprived area (220th of 890; preventable deaths 137 per 100 expected; 10% in low-income households), and Lisbane 2 the least (874th; 46 per 100 expected; 12%). 0% of the town’s residents live in Northern Ireland’s most health-deprived fifth of areas.
Show as a table
| Small area | Rank of 890 | Preventable deaths | Emergency admissions | Low income | Of Comber’s residents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comber North 1 | 220th | 137 | 106 | 10% | 14% |
| Comber East 1 | 294th | 139 | 136 | 15% | 22% |
| Comber East 2 | 626th | 85 | 85 | 11% | 12% |
| Comber North 2 | 759th | 81 | 70 | 11% | 11% |
| Comber West 1 | 827th | 65 | 65 | 13% | 11% |
| Comber West 2 | 828th | 74 | 65 | 11% | 17% |
| Lisbane 1 | 847th | 76 | 88 | 9% | 5% |
| Lisbane 2 | 874th | 46 | 81 | 12% | 6% |
NISRA, Northern Ireland Multiple Deprivation Measure 2017 (2001 Super Output Areas; most indicators 2014 to 2016, and no newer edition). Deaths and admissions are per 100 expected for each area’s ages (Northern Ireland = 100); low income is the share of residents in households below 60% of Northern Ireland’s median income. An area counts for Comber when 30% of its residents, or 10% of the town’s, live in the town (Census 2021 residents, by area). Names are NISRA’s.
Men’s life expectancy in Comber is 0.7 years above what its share of low incomes predicts
Across Northern Ireland’s 80 district electoral areas, men’s life expectancy falls as the share of low-income households rises, loosely (correlation −0.39). Each dot is an area; the town’s figures average the areas it covers.
12% of Comber’s residents live in low-income households (13% across Northern Ireland). For that share, the line predicts 79.4 years for men; Comber’s is 80.1. Income explains only part of the spread in Northern Ireland, so treat the gap as a rough guide.
Life expectancy: NISRA by district electoral area, 2022 to 2024. Low income: NIMDM 2017 income domain, the share of residents in households below 60% of Northern Ireland’s median income, averaged over each area’s small areas by Census 2021 residents. English towns’ version of this chart uses England’s Indices of Deprivation, so the two can’t be compared.
Care in and near Comber
The nearest emergency department, GP practices, and where to go when it’s urgent but not an emergency. In an emergency, call 999.
54% of the South Eastern Trust’s outpatients have waited more than a year
People waiting at the end of June 2026 for a first outpatient appointment, an operation or a diagnostic test with the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust, which runs the hospitals nearest Comber.
Outpatients waiting more than a year, by trust
32% of the trust’s outpatients had been waiting more than two years. Waiting lists are kept by trust, not town: patients from Comber can be referred to another trust’s hospital, and Belfast’s lists include regional specialties for all of Northern Ireland.
Department of Health (Northern Ireland), waiting times statistics, quarter ending June 2026 (outpatients, inpatients and day cases, diagnostics; encompass system), and cancer waiting times, April to June 2026 (the target: 95% of patients urgently referred with suspected cancer start treatment within 62 days). Day procedure centres count in Northern Ireland’s totals, not a trust’s. A town’s trust is the one for its main district electoral area.
2 GP practices in Comber, with 15,303 registered patients
Every practice on the Business Services Organisation’s list with an address in Comber, and how many patients each has registered. Northern Ireland has no GP patient survey, so practices can’t be compared on what patients think of them.
| Practice | Patients |
|---|---|
| Comber Family Practice Dr. Whiteside & Partners · Comber Health Centre, 5 Newtownards Road BT23 5BA | 7,908 |
| The Square Surgery Dr. Mitchell & Partners · 16 A The Square, Comber BT23 5DT | 7,395 |
The 4 pharmacies in Comber
- Baltic B Enterprises Ltd T/A Lisbane Pharmacy 24 Lisbarnet Road, Comber BT23 6AW
- Horner Pharmacy Ltd 16 The Square, Comber BT23 5DT
- Horner Pharmacy Ltd 7 Newtownards Road, Comber BT23 5LB
- Nisco Healthcare Ltd 4 The Square, Comber BT23 5DT
HSC Business Services Organisation: GP practice list sizes, July 2026, and dispensing by contractor, August 2026 (Open Data NI). A practice counts for Comber when its postcode or address places it in the town; registered patients include people living outside it. A practice with no town in its address may be missing; nidirect lists every practice. Find a GP on nidirect →
53% of people around Comber are registered with a health service dentist
Registrations with a Health and Social Care dentist in the district electoral areas around Comber, for every 100 residents (Census 2021), against 50% across Northern Ireland. Whether a surgery is taking on new HSC patients isn’t published: ask the surgery.
The 3 dental surgeries in Comber
- 18 Killinchy Street Comber BT23 5AP
- 56 Castle Street Comber BT23 5DZ
- Vita Dental Care 5-7 Castle Street, Comber BT23 5DY
HSC Business Services Organisation: general dental services registrations by district electoral area and age, 2025/26 (NISRA data portal).
HSC Business Services Organisation: general dental services, surgery list at 30 June 2026 (Open Data NI). A surgery counts for Comber when its postcode or address places it in the town. Finding a dentist on nidirect →
78% of residents say their health is good or very good
Census 2021, all residents, as answered (not adjusted for age).
Adjusted for age, 121 report bad health for every 100 expected, more than the national rate.
Show as a table
| Census 2021 | Comber | Ards and North Down | Northern Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 78% | 77% |
| Fair health | 15% | 15% | 14% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.1% | 7.3% | 8.7% |
| Disabled under the Equality Act | 25% | 25% | 26% |
| Day-to-day activities limited a lot | 11% | 11% | 13% |
Ards and North Down and Northern Ireland: all residents of their settlements (towns and cities), from the same Census 2021 data zones.
Comber’s Health Grade is 289th of 496 UK towns of 7,000 to 13,000
Ordered by Health Grade: the top three, the towns either side of Comber, and others in Ards and North Down. Life expectancy for men / women; deaths under 75 per 100 expected.
| # | Town | People | Life expectancy | Deaths under 75 | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prestwood and Great Missenden Buckinghamshire | 7,600 | 83.7 / 88.4 | 56 | A+ |
| 2 | Esher Surrey | 9,484 | 83.1 / 85.9 | 59 | A+ |
| 3 | Otford and Kemsing Kent | 7,332 | 84.5 / 88.7 | 59 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 223 | Holywood Ards and North Down | 10,757 | 80.4 / 84.7 | — | C+ |
| … | |||||
| 245 | Donaghadee Ards and North Down | 7,325 | 82.2 / 83.3 | — | C+ |
| … | |||||
| 287 | Dursley Gloucestershire | 7,935 | 79.4 / 80.6 | 113 | C |
| 288 | Alnwick Northumberland | 8,432 | 79.2 / 82.7 | 100 | C |
| 289 | Comber Ards and North Down | 9,529 | 80.1 / 83.7 | — | C |
| 290 | Whitwick Leicestershire | 10,455 | 80.3 / 82.2 | 102 | C |
| 291 | Minehead Somerset | 11,752 | 78.0 / 82.7 | 102 | C |
| … | |||||
| 496 | Methil Fife | 10,712 | 71.6 / 77.0 | — | 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. Northern Ireland’s towns are graded on life expectancy (NISRA, 2022 to 2024) and the two Census measures.
Health in the places around Comber
Life expectancy for men / women. Tap a town for its health page.
| Town | People | Life expectancy | Health |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comber | 9,529 | 80.1 / 83.7 | C |
| Ballygowan | 3,138 | 80.1 / 83.7 | C+ |
| Newtownards | 29,677 | 78.6 / 84.0 | C− |
| Metropolitan Castlereagh | 58,763 | 80.7 / 83.9 | C |
| Carryduff | 7,173 | 82.6 / 86.0 | B |
| Holywood | 10,757 | 80.4 / 84.7 | C+ |
| Saintfield | 3,588 | 79.5 / 82.9 | C |
| Bangor | 64,596 | 80.1 / 82.9 | C |
Carryduff, 6.3 miles away, has men’s life expectancy of 82.6, 2.5 years longer than Comber’s.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Adjusted for age. A ratio of 100 means as many reports of bad health or disability as England and Wales’s rates would give a town with these ages; 120 means a fifth more. Northern Ireland’s ratios run high on that standard (people here report more ill health at every age), while life expectancy is close to England’s.
- Life expectancy for the area around the town. NISRA publishes life expectancy for district electoral areas of about 23,000 people; the town’s figure averages the areas it covers, weighted by how many of their residents live in it.
- Areas larger than the town. Deaths, admissions, prescriptions and dental registrations are published for district electoral areas, and child obesity for council areas, so villages near Comber share its figures. The neighbourhood ranks use NIMDM 2017, Northern Ireland’s latest deprivation measure, whose indicators mostly date from 2014 to 2016.
- Waiting lists are by trust. The Department of Health publishes waiting lists for each of the five Health and Social Care trusts, not for hospitals or towns; a town’s trust is the one that serves its main district electoral area.
- Different years. Life expectancy covers 2022 to 2024; deaths 2020 to 2024; emergency department waits the months to June 2026; waiting lists the end of June 2026; the Census was taken in March 2021.
- Not graded. Only life expectancy and the two Census measures feed the Health Grade, as they’re the only ones that match English and Welsh towns’ figures. Everything else on this page is compared with Northern Ireland.
Questions about health in Comber
How healthy is Comber?
Comber earns a C for health, healthier than 30% of UK towns on measures adjusted for age, and 289th of 496 UK towns of its size. Life expectancy is 80.1 for men and 83.7 for women (NISRA, 2022 to 2024; Northern Ireland’s towns 78.3 and 82.2).
Where is the nearest A&E to Comber?
Ulster Hospital in Belfast, about 4.3 mi from the town centre in a straight line. In 2025/26 it saw 19% of patients within four hours, against 43% across Northern Ireland. In an emergency call 999; when your GP practice is closed, call GP Out of Hours.
How long are hospital waiting lists for people in Comber?
Comber is served by the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust. At the end of June 2026, 91,006 people were waiting for a first outpatient appointment with it, and 54% had waited more than a year (54% across Northern Ireland). 23% of its patients urgently referred with suspected cancer started treatment within 62 days in April to June 2026; the target is 95%.
Can I get a health service dentist in Comber?
53% of residents in the areas around Comber are registered with a health service dentist (50% across Northern Ireland), and 3 dental surgeries have an address in the town. Which surgeries are taking on new HSC patients isn’t published, so ask the surgery; nidirect explains how to find one.
How many GP practices are in Comber?
2 practices have an address in Comber, with 15,303 registered patients between them (July 2026). nidirect lists every practice and how to register.
Hospital and practice locations from OpenStreetMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Sources: NISRA life expectancy by district electoral area, 2022 to 2024 · NISRA Census 2021 general health and disability by data zone, adjusted for age by TownRatings (observed ÷ expected at England and Wales rates) · Department of Health (Northern Ireland): emergency care waiting times by department (monthly to June 2026) and activity 2025/26; waiting times for outpatients, inpatients and day cases and diagnostics (June 2026); cancer waiting times (April to June 2026) · Department of Health, Health and Social Care Inequalities Monitoring System via the NISRA data portal (deaths 2020–24, admissions 2024/25, prescriptions 2024, child BMI 2024/25) · NISRA, Northern Ireland Multiple Deprivation Measure 2017 · HSC Business Services Organisation: dental registrations (2025/26); via Open Data NI: GP practice list sizes (July 2026), dental surgeries (June 2026), dispensing by contractor (August 2026) · 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.