Photo: Robin Stott · CC BY-SA 2.014 years separate the longest- and shortest-lived parts of Bristol
Inside the city, men’s life expectancy runs from 71.3 in Temple Meads to 85.4 in Henleaze, 2.4 miles apart. Life expectancy is 78.3 for men and 82.9 for women. Across England the figures for 2019 to 2023 are 79.1 and 83.0. Bristol grades C− 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 Bristol
A 14-year gap from one part of Bristol to another
Men in Henleaze can expect to live to 85.4, longer than the English average of 79.1. In Temple Meads, 2.4 miles away, the figure is 71.3, and Temple Meads records 203 deaths under 75 for every 100 expected for its ages. For women the range is 76.2 in Temple Meads to 90.7 in Clifton East. Neighbourhoods ↓
NHS dentists are harder to get than in most of England
Of adults in the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire area who tried to get an NHS dental appointment in the last two years, 76% succeeded; across England it was 82%. Dentists ↓
More A&E patients are seen within four hours than across England
Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the A&E at UHBW Bristol Campus, saw 65% of major-A&E patients within four hours in the 12 months to September 2026, against 61% across England: 29th of 117 trusts. 8.6% 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.
Bristol grades C− for health
Healthier than 25% of UK towns, on age-adjusted measures.
Behind the typical UK town on every measure. Even its strongest, child obesity and women’s life expectancy, are in the bottom 50% of UK towns; deaths under 75 and preventable deaths are furthest behind. Among the 25 UK towns of 298,000 to 574,000 people, Bristol’s Health Grade is the 14th 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.
Men’s life expectancy across Bristol runs from 71.3 to 85.4
Life expectancy at birth, 2019–23, in Bristol’s 50 middle-layer neighbourhoods (about 8,000 people each). Circles are sized by residents and show men’s life expectancy.
The gap follows deprivation closely: Hartcliffe, where 62% of residents are income-deprived, has men’s life expectancy of 75.4. Temple Meads has the most deaths under 75 for its ages (203 per 100 expected), against 40 in Henleaze.
Show every measure as a table
| Neighbourhood | Men | Women | Deaths under 75 | Emergency admissions | Year 6 obese | Income-deprived |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henleaze | 85.4 | 87.9 | 40 | 74 | 9.1% | 3% |
| Clifton Village | 84.9 | 85.2 | 64 | 67 | — | 3.8% |
| Stoke Bishop | 83.4 | 86.0 | 54 | 77 | 9.4% | 3.6% |
| Clifton East | 82.1 | 90.7 | 67 | 63 | 25% | 4.6% |
| Redland & St Andrew's | 81.8 | — | 61 | 73 | 7.4% | 6.2% |
| Westbury Park | 81.7 | 83.0 | 74 | 74 | 7.8% | 5.3% |
| Ashton | 81.6 | 82.1 | 81 | 98 | 11% | 15% |
| Whitchurch Park | 81.5 | 84.9 | 78 | 98 | 21% | 14% |
| Westbury-on-Trym | 81.4 | 83.4 | 78 | 87 | 6.4% | 3.9% |
| Cotham | 81.3 | 84.8 | 48 | 58 | — | 5% |
| Brislington | 81.3 | 82.8 | 108 | 104 | 13% | 16% |
| Westbury Village | 80.6 | 84.4 | 72 | 99 | 12% | 11% |
| Sea Mills | 80.4 | 88.3 | 81 | 105 | 19% | 24% |
| Horfield | 80.3 | 83.7 | 72 | 90 | 17% | 11% |
| Bishopston | 80.2 | 85.2 | 68 | 82 | 5.1% | 6.4% |
| Crews Hole | 80.2 | 87.4 | 69 | 97 | 17% | 12% |
| Hotwells | 80.2 | 85.6 | 93 | 72 | 14% | 10% |
| Windmill Hill | 80.2 | 83.6 | 75 | 98 | 17% | 25% |
| Knowle Park | 80.0 | 85.5 | 78 | 94 | 11% | 13% |
| Monks Park | 79.9 | 83.1 | 103 | 124 | 21% | 20% |
| Headley Park | 79.7 | 82.9 | 103 | 113 | 30% | 25% |
| Broom Hill | 79.4 | 82.7 | 111 | 102 | 19% | 20% |
| Bishopsworth | 79.1 | 82.8 | 100 | 104 | 25% | 15% |
| Hengrove | 78.9 | 81.6 | 105 | 123 | 20% | 26% |
| Stockwood | 78.5 | 82.8 | 108 | 104 | 23% | 22% |
| St Annes | 78.4 | 83.6 | 100 | 97 | 20% | 19% |
| Henbury & Brentry | 78.2 | 83.4 | 105 | 129 | 26% | 32% |
| City Centre & Harbourside | 78.0 | 88.6 | 82 | — | 30% | 9.8% |
| Shirehampton & Avonmouth | 77.6 | 80.6 | 130 | 119 | 27% | 25% |
| Southville | 77.6 | 80.7 | 103 | 90 | 8.9% | 12% |
| Lockleaze | 76.9 | 82.2 | 123 | 135 | 23% | 29% |
| Lower Easton | 76.8 | 84.1 | 106 | 115 | 22% | 29% |
| St Werburghs | 76.7 | 83.5 | 129 | — | 21% | 26% |
| Kingsdown | 76.5 | 86.0 | 114 | 79 | 20% | 13% |
| Withywood | 76.5 | 78.6 | 137 | 133 | 31% | 48% |
| Upper Horfield | 76.4 | 80.9 | 117 | 130 | 26% | 31% |
| Southmead | 76.3 | 80.1 | 142 | 148 | 27% | 33% |
| Knowle | 76.1 | 79.9 | 147 | 134 | 27% | 42% |
| Hartcliffe | 75.4 | 80.5 | 150 | 141 | 29% | 62% |
| Highridge | 75.4 | 81.8 | 152 | 132 | 26% | 42% |
| Knowle West | 75.4 | 80.6 | 140 | 146 | 28% | 47% |
| Lawrence Weston | 75.2 | 80.8 | 153 | 149 | 31% | 44% |
| Totterdown | 75.0 | 83.9 | 120 | 83 | 16% | 16% |
| Bedminster | 74.8 | 78.5 | 171 | 111 | 18% | 21% |
| Upper Easton | 74.4 | 81.7 | 150 | 130 | 24% | 46% |
| Redfield | 74.0 | 78.2 | 162 | 99 | 29% | 22% |
| St George | 74.0 | 80.8 | 154 | 127 | 23% | 23% |
| Barton Hill | 72.8 | 82.2 | 156 | 135 | 24% | 55% |
| St Pauls | 72.1 | 82.6 | 146 | — | 24% | 27% |
| Temple Meads | 71.3 | 76.2 | 203 | 118 | 26% | 30% |
Deaths and admissions per 100 expected for each area’s ages (England = 100). Each figure has a range: Temple Meads’s men’s life expectancy is 71.3 with a 95% range of 69.2 to 73.4. Neighbourhoods are ONS middle-layer areas at least 30% inside Bristol; names are the House of Commons Library’s.
Bristol saw 65% 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: Bristol NHS Foundation Trust runs the A&E at UHBW Bristol Campus, the nearest to Bristol (0.2 mi).
The share seen within four hours has held near 67% over 18 months. Long waits for a bed are rarer than at 62% of trusts: 6,001 patients in 12 months, 8.6% of emergency admissions through A&E. CQC’s latest ratings for UHBW Bristol Campus: urgent and emergency services requires improvement (2025), the hospital overall requires improvement (2025).
South West trusts
Hospitals within 25 miles
| Distance | Hospital | CQC overall | Urgent & emergency |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.2 mi | UHBW Bristol Campus A&E Bristol · Bristol NHS Foundation Trust | Requires improvement2025 | Requires improvement2025 |
| 0.2 mi | Bristol Eye Hospital Assessment Clinic @ The Galleries Bristol · Bristol NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | — |
| 2.4 mi | Southmead Hospital A&E Bristol · University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | Not rated |
| 3.3 mi | South Bristol NHS Community Hospital Bristol · Bristol NHS Foundation Trust | Good2026 | — |
| 9.9 mi | Royal United Hospital Bath A&E Bath · Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust | Requires improvement2026 | Requires improvement2026 |
| 13 mi | Chepstow Community Hospital Chepstow | Not rated | — |
| 19 mi | Vale Hospital Dursley · Gloucestershire Health & Care NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | — |
| 19 mi | Weston General Hospital A&E Weston-super-mare · Bristol NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | Not rated |
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 Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire 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 Bristol).
Across England 82% of those who tried got an appointment. Of Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire patients who did, 68% 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.
Men’s life expectancy in Bristol is 0.9 years below what its level of deprivation predicts
Across 1,996 English towns of 2,500 or more, men’s life expectancy tracks income deprivation closely (correlation −0.81). Each dot is a town.
21% of Bristol’s residents are income-deprived, more than in most English towns. For that level, the line predicts 79.2 years for men; Bristol’s is 78.3. For women it predicts 83.1, and Bristol’s 82.9 is close to it.
Income deprivation: share of residents in low-income households, English Indices of Deprivation 2025, averaged over each town’s neighbourhoods. A town above or below the line isn’t necessarily doing better or worse on care: students, prisons and hostels inside a boundary all shift the figures.
Care in and near Bristol
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.
79% of patients rate Bristol’s 33 GP practices good
GP Patient Survey 2026 (NHS England, run by Ipsos), about 100 patients a practice, against 77% across England. 5th of 23 English towns of 298,000 to 574,000, from the highest.
| Practice | Overall experience | Easy by phone | Wait about right | CQC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenway Community Practice BS10 6AF · 9,710 adult patients | 94% good · range 88%–97% | 85% | 73% | Outstanding2020 |
| Fallodon Way Medical Centre BS9 4HT · 9,225 adult patients | 93% good · range 85%–97% | 69% | 80% | Good2018 |
| St George Health Centre BS5 7PH · 19,769 adult patients | 88% good · range 70%–96% | 58% | 77% | Good2021 |
| Stockwood Medical Centre BS14 8PT · 8,555 adult patients | 87% good · range 80%–92% | 84% | 79% | Good2016 |
| Pembroke Road Surgery BS8 3EU · 16,754 adult patients | 86% good · range 74%–93% | 82% | 59% | Good2016 |
| Westbury-on-Trym Primary Care Centre BS9 3AA · 9,762 adult patients | 86% good · range 80%–90% | 57% | 69% | Good2017 |
| The Crest Family Practice BS4 1WH · 11,169 adult patients | 86% good · range 75%–92% | 72% | 65% | Good2018 |
| Gloucester Road Medical Centre BS7 8SA · 17,839 adult patients | 85% good · range 72%–93% | 73% | 76% | Good2018 |
| Hartwood Healthcare BS13 0JP · 6,464 adult patients | 84% good · range 79%–88% | 62% | 63% | Good2017 |
| Whiteladies Medical Group BS8 2PU · 14,553 adult patients | 84% good · range 67%–93% | 55% | 60% | Good2022 |
| University of Bristol BS6 6AU · 15,200 adult patients | 84% good · range 61%–94% | 89% | 85% | Good2022 |
| Shirehampton Group Practice BS11 9SB · 8,977 adult patients | 83% good · range 77%–88% | 61% | 58% | Good2016 |
| East Trees Health Centre BS5 6SA · 12,498 adult patients | 81% good · range 67%–90% | 42% | 55% | Good2018 |
| Mendip Vale Medical Practice - Monks Park BS7 0UE · 30,332 adult patients | 81% good · range 59%–92% | 59% | 74% | Good2022 |
| Wells Road Surgery BS4 2DF · 8,063 adult patients | 80% good · range 72%–86% | 74% | 62% | Good2016 |
| Birchwood Medical Practice BS4 4HU · 7,360 adult patients | 80% good · range 73%–85% | 55% | 48% | Good2015 |
| Bedminster Family Practice BS3 4AT · 11,680 adult patients | 80% good · range 65%–89% | 51% | 64% | Good2017 |
| The Wellspring Surgery BS5 9QY · 8,905 adult patients | 79% good · range 71%–85% | 69% | 77% | Good2019 |
| Priory Surgery BS4 2QJ · 9,284 adult patients | 79% good · range 67%–87% | 55% | 60% | Good2015 |
| Grange Road Surgery BS13 8LD · 9,459 adult patients | 79% good · range 70%–85% | 51% | 51% | Good2016 |
| Bridge View Medical BS3 1AS · 32,508 adult patients | 78% good · range 52%–92% | 32% | 72% | Good2016 |
| Nightingale Valley Practice BS4 4HU · 11,877 adult patients | 78% good · range 66%–87% | 28% | 59% | Good2017 |
| The Lennard Surgery BS13 7JD · 6,768 adult patients | 76% good · range 69%–82% | 59% | 67% | Good2017 |
| Broadmead Medical Centre BS1 3EA · 11,178 adult patients | 75% good · range 58%–87% | 77% | 69% | Good2019 |
| Air Balloon Surgery BS5 7PD · 10,951 adult patients | 74% good · range 64%–82% | 58% | 68% | Good2018 |
| Bradgate Surgery BS10 6SP · 18,408 adult patients | 73% good · range 47%–90% | 65% | 61% | Outstanding2018 |
| The Family Practice BS6 6DF · 14,715 adult patients | 72% good · range 59%–83% | 47% | 85% | Good2016 |
| Hillview Family Practice BS13 0JP · 5,385 adult patients | 72% good · range 65%–78% | 47% | 63% | Good2026 |
| Horfield Health Centre BS7 9RR · 14,395 adult patients | 71% good · range 54%–83% | 56% | 52% | Good2016 |
| Lawrence Hill Health Centre BS2 0AN · 9,379 adult patients | 69% good · range 57%–80% | 28% | 47% | Good2026 |
The 30 highest-rated of 33 practices shown.
Greenway Community Practice has the city’s highest rating (94%). Bridge View Medical is by far the largest, with 32,508 adult patients. 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 Bristol when its main surgery is inside the built-up area; branch surgeries are part of their main practice. CQC ratings © Care Quality Commission.
84% of residents say their health is good or very good
Census 2021, all residents, as answered (not adjusted for age).
Adjusted for age, 112 report bad health for every 100 expected, more than the national rate.
Show as a table
| Census 2021 | Bristol | Bristol council area | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 84% | 82% |
| Fair health | 11% | 11% | 13% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.9% | 4.9% | 5.2% |
| Disabled under the Equality Act | 17% | 17% | 17% |
| Day-to-day activities limited a lot | 6.8% | 6.8% | 7.4% |
Bristol and England: all residents of their built-up areas (towns and cities), from the same Census 2021 output areas.
Bristol’s Health Grade is 14th of 25 UK towns of 298,000 to 574,000
Ordered by Health Grade: the top three, the towns either side of Bristol, and others in the Bristol council area. Life expectancy for men / women; deaths under 75 per 100 expected.
| # | Town | People | Life expectancy | Deaths under 75 | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bromley London | 325,469 | 81.3 / 85.1 | 78 | B+ |
| 2 | Barnet London | 388,572 | 81.4 / 85.4 | 77 | B |
| 3 | Wandsworth London | 326,725 | 79.8 / 84.5 | 85 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 12 | Lewisham London | 300,764 | 78.2 / 82.7 | 107 | C |
| 13 | Edinburgh City of Edinburgh | 493,794 | 78.3 / 82.5 | — | C |
| 14 | Bristol Bristol | 425,196 | 78.3 / 82.9 | 108 | C− |
| 15 | Newham London | 351,065 | 77.6 / 82.2 | 114 | C− |
| 16 | Tower Hamlets London | 311,072 | 77.7 / 81.7 | 105 | C− |
| … | |||||
| 25 | Liverpool Merseyside | 506,564 | 75.7 / 79.6 | 148 | 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 Bristol
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol | 425,196 | 78.3 / 82.9 | 0.2 mi | C− |
| Filton | 10,955 | 79.3 / 84.4 | 1.3 mi | C |
| Long Ashton | 5,184 | 83.3 / 85.6 | 3.6 mi | A+ |
| Kingswood and Fishponds | 160,280 | 80.0 / 83.9 | 4 mi | C+ |
| Stoke Gifford | 13,477 | 81.2 / 84.4 | 2.4 mi | B+ |
| Whitchurch | 1,992 | 79.4 / 82.3 | 4.1 mi | B− |
| Pill | 4,956 | 82.7 / 86.0 | 4.2 mi | A |
| Patchway | 16,517 | 80.4 / 82.1 | 2.5 mi | C− |
Long Ashton, 3.8 miles away, has men’s life expectancy of 83.3, 5.0 years longer than Bristol’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 Bristol 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 Bristol.
- 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 Bristol
How healthy is Bristol?
Bristol earns a C− for health, healthier than 25% of UK towns on measures adjusted for age, and 14th of 25 UK towns of its size. Life expectancy is 78.3 for men and 82.9 for women (England 79.1 and 83.0), and there are 108 deaths under 75 for every 100 expected.
Which parts of Bristol have the highest life expectancy?
For men, Henleaze (85.4), Clifton Village (84.9) and Stoke Bishop (83.4); the shortest is Temple Meads (71.3). For women, Clifton East is highest (90.7) and Temple Meads lowest (76.2). OHID figures for 2019 to 2023, by neighbourhood of about 8,000 people.
How long are A&E waits at UHBW Bristol Campus?
NHS England publishes waits for the trust, Bristol NHS Foundation Trust. In the 12 months to September 2026 it saw 65% of major-A&E patients within four hours, against 61% across England; in September 2026 the figure was 68%. In an emergency call 999; for urgent advice call NHS 111.
Can I get an NHS dentist in Bristol?
It is harder than in most of England. In the 2026 GP Patient Survey, 76% of adults in the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire 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.
Which GP practice in Bristol do patients rate highest?
In the 2026 GP Patient Survey, Greenway Community Practice (94% good overall), Fallodon Way Medical Centre (93% good overall) and St George Health Centre (88% good overall). Across all 33 Bristol practices, 79% of patients rate their practice good, against 77% in England.
What is the life expectancy in Bristol?
78.3 years for men and 82.9 for women, on OHID’s figures for 2019 to 2023. Men can expect 63.6 of those years and women 65.5 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.