Photo: Jack Bromby · Public domainHow long people live in Billingham: 78.6 for men and 81.3 for women
For 2019 to 2023, England’s figures are 79.1 and 83.0. Billingham grades D for health: life expectancy, healthy life expectancy, early deaths, hospital admissions, child obesity and Census health, each adjusted for age; #21 of 52 in County Durham.
What stands out about health in Billingham
A&E waits run longer than England’s, but fewer patients wait 12 hours for a bed
North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the A&E at University Hospital of North Tees, saw 46% of major-A&E patients within four hours in the 12 months to September 2026, against 61% across England: 113th of 117 trusts. 1.3% of patients admitted through its A&Es waited more than 12 hours from the decision to admit, against 13% in England. A&E ↓
More of Billingham’s children are obese
26% of Year 6 children (aged 10 to 11) were measured as obese over the last three school years, against 22.3% across England; more than in 90% of UK towns. Health Grade ↓
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.
Billingham grades D for health
Healthier than 13% of UK towns, on age-adjusted measures.
Behind the typical UK town on every measure. Even its strongest, men’s life expectancy and disability, are in the bottom 30% of UK towns; emergency admissions and women’s years in good health are furthest behind. Among the 224 UK towns of 24,000 to 46,000 people, Billingham’s Health Grade is the 159th 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.
North Tees and Hartlepool saw 46% 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: North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust runs the A&E at University Hospital of North Tees, the nearest to Billingham (3.1 mi).
The share seen within four hours has held near 48% over 18 months. Long waits for a bed are rarer than at 82% of trusts: 259 patients in 12 months, 1.3% of emergency admissions through A&E. CQC’s latest ratings for University Hospital of North Tees: urgent and emergency services good (2018), the hospital overall requires improvement (2022).
North East and Yorkshire trusts
Hospitals within 25 miles
| Distance | Hospital | CQC overall | Urgent & emergency |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 mi | University Hospital of North Tees A&E Stockton On Tees · North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust | Requires improvement2022 | Good2018 |
| 5 mi | The James Cook University Hospital A&E Middlesbrough · South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | Good2024 | Good2023 |
| 6.7 mi | University Hospital of Hartlepool Hartlepool · North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust | Requires improvement2022 | — |
| 10 mi | Peterlee Community Hospital Peterlee · County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | — |
| 12 mi | Darlington Memorial Hospital A&E Darlington · County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust | Good2026 | Good2025 |
| 17 mi | University Hospital North Durham A&E Durham · County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust | Good2026 | Good2025 |
| 19 mi | Friarage Hospital Northallerton · South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | Good2024 | — |
| 21 mi | Sunderland Royal Hospital A&E Sunderland · South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS FT | Requires improvement2023 | Requires improvement2020 |
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.
Men’s life expectancy across Billingham runs from 75.1 to 82.4
Life expectancy at birth, 2019–23, in Billingham’s 4 middle-layer neighbourhoods (about 8,000 people each). Circles are sized by residents and show men’s life expectancy.
Billingham East & Haverton Hill has the most deaths under 75 for its ages (163 per 100 expected), against 74 in Billingham North & Wolviston.
Show every measure as a table
| Neighbourhood | Men | Women | Deaths under 75 | Emergency admissions | Year 6 obese | Income-deprived |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billingham North & Wolviston | 82.4 | 83.9 | 74 | 109 | 23% | 11% |
| Billingham Central | 78.6 | 82.5 | 123 | 120 | 29% | 30% |
| Billingham South | 77.0 | 80.0 | 123 | 132 | 26% | 29% |
| Billingham East & Haverton Hill | 75.1 | 76.9 | 163 | 157 | 27% | 45% |
Deaths and admissions per 100 expected for each area’s ages (England = 100). Each figure has a range: Billingham East & Haverton Hill’s men’s life expectancy is 75.1 with a 95% range of 73.0 to 77.2. Neighbourhoods are ONS middle-layer areas at least 30% inside Billingham; names are the House of Commons Library’s.
Men’s life expectancy in Billingham is 0.6 years above 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.
27% of Billingham’s residents are income-deprived, more than in most English towns. For that level, the line predicts 78.0 years for men; Billingham’s is 78.6. For women it predicts 82.1, and Billingham’s 81.3 is 0.8 years below.
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 Billingham
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.
78% of patients rate Billingham’s 6 GP practices good
GP Patient Survey 2026 (NHS England, run by Ipsos), about 100 patients a practice, against 77% across England. 93rd of 188 English towns of 24,000 to 46,000, from the highest.
| Practice | Overall experience | Easy by phone | Wait about right | CQC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melrose Medical Centre Ltd TS23 2JW · 1,972 adult patients | 96% good · range 94%–97% | 98% | 94% | Good2018 |
| Dr Shafquth Rasool TS23 2DG · 1,885 adult patients | 93% good · range 92%–94% | 97% | 98% | Good2016 |
| Queenstree Practice TS23 2LA · 3,425 adult patients | 80% good · range 75%–84% | 66% | 63% | Good2023 |
| Kingsway Medical Centre TS23 2LS · 7,949 adult patients | 79% good · range 63%–89% | 50% | 64% | Good2016 |
| Marsh House Medical Centre TS23 2DG · 6,931 adult patients | 75% good · range 65%–83% | 53% | 43% | Good2016 |
| The Roseberry Practice TS23 2DG · 6,261 adult patients | 69% good · range 61%–77% | 52% | 78% | Good2016 |
Melrose Medical Centre Ltd has the town’s highest rating (96%). 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 Billingham when its main surgery is inside the built-up area; branch surgeries are part of their main practice. CQC ratings © Care Quality Commission.
77% of adults in the North East and North Cumbria 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 Billingham).
Across England 82% of those who tried got an appointment. Of North East and North Cumbria patients who did, 71% 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.
77% of residents say their health is good or very good
Census 2021, all residents, as answered (not adjusted for age).
Adjusted for age, 125 report bad health for every 100 expected, more than the national rate.
Show as a table
| Census 2021 | Billingham | County Durham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 77% | 77% | 82% |
| Fair health | 16% | 15% | 13% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.1% | 7.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled under the Equality Act | 22% | 22% | 17% |
| Day-to-day activities limited a lot | 10% | 10% | 7.4% |
County Durham and England: all residents of their built-up areas (towns and cities), from the same Census 2021 output areas.
Billingham’s Health Grade is 159th of 224 UK towns of 24,000 to 46,000
Ordered by Health Grade: the top three, the towns either side of Billingham, and others in County Durham. Life expectancy for men / women; deaths under 75 per 100 expected.
| # | Town | People | Life expectancy | Deaths under 75 | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harpenden Hertfordshire | 30,964 | 83.0 / 86.8 | 58 | A+ |
| 2 | Fleet Hampshire | 37,800 | 83.3 / 85.7 | 58 | A+ |
| 3 | Ascot Berkshire | 24,003 | 83.1 / 84.6 | 63 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 157 | Batley West Yorkshire | 44,494 | 76.7 / 80.4 | 133 | D |
| 158 | Stalybridge Greater Manchester | 26,850 | 76.8 / 80.5 | 127 | D |
| 159 | Billingham County Durham | 33,917 | 78.6 / 81.3 | 118 | D |
| 160 | Prescot Merseyside | 39,227 | 77.9 / 81.2 | 120 | D |
| 161 | Stirling Stirling | 38,590 | 76.0 / 81.0 | — | D |
| … | |||||
| 164 | Consett County Durham | 29,874 | 76.7 / 80.5 | 126 | D |
| … | |||||
| 182 | Newton Aycliffe County Durham | 25,760 | 77.2 / 80.4 | 133 | D |
| … | |||||
| 224 | Clydebank West Dunbartonshire | 26,220 | 72.3 / 78.5 | — | 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 Billingham
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billingham | 33,917 | 78.6 / 81.3 | 3.1 mi | D |
| Wynyard | 4,040 | 81.9 / 85.8 | 3.7 mi | A− |
| Stockton-on-Tees | 84,824 | 76.1 / 79.6 | 0.8 mi | D |
| Thornaby-on-Tees | 23,352 | 75.5 / 79.0 | 3.3 mi | D− |
| Middlesbrough | 148,232 | 75.5 / 79.7 | 0.3 mi | D |
| Stillington | 1,407 | 81.6 / 86.4 | 3.3 mi | B |
| Hartlepool | 88,001 | 76.1 / 80.3 | 8.4 mi | D |
| Eston | 29,625 | 74.4 / 79.4 | 2.6 mi | D− |
Eston, 6.2 miles away, has men’s life expectancy of 74.4, 4.2 years shorter than Billingham’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 North Tees and Hartlepool 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 Billingham.
- 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 Billingham
How healthy is Billingham?
Billingham earns a D for health, healthier than 13% of UK towns on measures adjusted for age, and 159th of 224 UK towns of its size. Life expectancy is 78.6 for men and 81.3 for women (England 79.1 and 83.0), and there are 118 deaths under 75 for every 100 expected.
How long are A&E waits at University Hospital of North Tees?
NHS England publishes waits for the trust, North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust. In the 12 months to September 2026 it saw 46% of major-A&E patients within four hours, against 61% across England; in September 2026 the figure was 40%. In an emergency call 999; for urgent advice call NHS 111.
Can I get an NHS dentist in Billingham?
In the 2026 GP Patient Survey, 77% of adults in the North East and North Cumbria 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 Billingham do patients rate highest?
In the 2026 GP Patient Survey, Melrose Medical Centre Ltd (96% good overall), Dr Shafquth Rasool (93% good overall) and Queenstree Practice (80% good overall). Across all 6 Billingham practices, 78% of patients rate their practice good, against 77% in England.
What is the life expectancy in Billingham?
78.6 years for men and 81.3 for women, on OHID’s figures for 2019 to 2023. Men can expect 61.9 of those years and women 62.4 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.