Photo: Thomas Nugent · CC BY-SA 2.08 years separate the longest- and shortest-lived parts of Preston
Inside the town, men’s life expectancy runs from 71.5 in St George's to 79.9 in Haslam Park, 1.6 miles apart. Life expectancy is 74.5 for men and 79.6 for women. Across England the figures for 2019 to 2023 are 79.1 and 83.0. Preston grades D for health: life expectancy, healthy life expectancy, early deaths, hospital admissions, child obesity and Census health, each adjusted for age; #62 of 65 in Lancashire.
What stands out about health in Preston
An 8-year gap from one part of Preston to another
Men in Haslam Park can expect to live to 79.9, longer than the English average of 79.1. In St George's, 1.6 miles away, the figure is 71.5, and St George's records 210 deaths under 75 for every 100 expected for its ages. For women the range is 75.0 in St Matthew's to 84.4 in Lea & Marina. Neighbourhoods ↓
More of Preston’s children are obese
24% 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 84% of UK towns. Health Grade ↓
Men live shorter lives than Preston’s level of deprivation would suggest
35% of Preston’s residents are income-deprived. Across England’s towns that predicts men’s life expectancy of 76.4; Preston’s is 74.5. For its circumstances ↓
More A&E patients are seen within four hours than across England
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the A&E at Royal Preston Hospital, saw 65% of major-A&E patients within four hours in the 12 months to September 2026, against 61% across England: 34th of 117 trusts. 13% 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.
Preston grades D for health
Healthier than 5% of UK towns, on age-adjusted measures.
Behind the typical UK town on every measure. Even its strongest, disability and child obesity, are in the bottom 20% of UK towns; deaths under 75 and preventable deaths are furthest behind.
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 Preston runs from 71.5 to 79.9
Life expectancy at birth, 2019–23, in Preston’s 12 middle-layer neighbourhoods (about 8,000 people each). Circles are sized by residents and show men’s life expectancy.
The gap follows deprivation closely: St Matthew's, where 50% of residents are income-deprived, has men’s life expectancy of 71.6. St George's has the most deaths under 75 for its ages (210 per 100 expected), against 103 in Haslam Park.
Show every measure as a table
| Neighbourhood | Men | Women | Deaths under 75 | Emergency admissions | Year 6 obese | Income-deprived |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haslam Park | 79.9 | 83.2 | 103 | 106 | 19% | 16% |
| Lea & Marina | 79.7 | 84.4 | 89 | 111 | 18% | 20% |
| Longsands | 77.9 | 80.7 | 95 | 111 | 15% | 8.4% |
| Ashton-on-Ribble & Larches | 77.2 | 83.0 | 129 | 134 | 26% | 28% |
| Frenchwood & Fishwick | 75.9 | 80.6 | 152 | 129 | 27% | 42% |
| Brookfield & Holme Slack | 75.3 | 79.5 | 166 | 142 | 28% | 38% |
| Plungington & University | 74.1 | 80.2 | 149 | 121 | 21% | 26% |
| Preston Town Centre | 73.2 | 78.0 | 178 | 126 | 22% | 32% |
| Moor Park | 72.5 | 80.4 | 173 | 138 | 20% | 38% |
| Ribbleton | 72.4 | 77.1 | 204 | 152 | 29% | 48% |
| St Matthew's | 71.6 | 75.0 | 208 | 154 | 29% | 50% |
| St George's | 71.5 | 78.1 | 210 | 117 | 27% | 37% |
Deaths and admissions per 100 expected for each area’s ages (England = 100). Each figure has a range: St George's’s men’s life expectancy is 71.5 with a 95% range of 69.2 to 73.8. Neighbourhoods are ONS middle-layer areas at least 30% inside Preston; names are the House of Commons Library’s.
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals 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: Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust runs the A&E at Royal Preston Hospital, the nearest to Preston (1.7 mi).
The share seen within four hours rose from an average of 63% in April 2025 to September 2025 to 67% in the latest six months; England’s was 62%. Long waits for a bed are close to the typical trust’s: 4,894 patients in 12 months, 13% of emergency admissions through A&E. CQC’s latest ratings for Royal Preston Hospital: urgent and emergency services requires improvement (2023), the hospital overall requires improvement (2023).
North West trusts
Hospitals within 25 miles
| Distance | Hospital | CQC overall | Urgent & emergency |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.7 mi | Royal Preston Hospital A&E Preston · Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | Requires improvement2023 | Requires improvement2023 |
| 1.7 mi | Royal Preston Hospital Preston · Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | — |
| 5.7 mi | Longridge Hospital Preston · Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | — |
| 7.5 mi | Chorley and South Ribble Hospital A&E Chorley · Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | Requires improvement2023 | Good2023 |
| 9.8 mi | Royal Blackburn Hospital A&E Blackburn · East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust | Good2019 | Requires improvement2019 |
| 12 mi | Wrightington Hospital Wigan · Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | Good2020 | — |
| 14 mi | Blackpool Victoria Hospital A&E Blackpool · Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | Requires improvement2026 | Requires improvement2026 |
| 14 mi | Blackpool Victoria Hospital Blackpool · Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | 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.
Men’s life expectancy in Preston is 1.9 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.
35% of Preston’s residents are income-deprived, more than in most English towns. For that level, the line predicts 76.4 years for men; Preston’s is 74.5. For women it predicts 80.7, and Preston’s 79.6 is 1.1 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 Preston
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 Preston’s 13 GP practices good
GP Patient Survey 2026 (NHS England, run by Ipsos), about 100 patients a practice, against 77% across England. 27th of 79 English towns of 66,000 to 128,000, from the highest.
| Practice | Overall experience | Easy by phone | Wait about right | CQC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The New Hall Lane Practice PR1 5NE · 5,435 adult patients | 87% good · range 75%–93% | 84% | 73% | Good2017 |
| Fishergate Hill Surgery PR1 8DN · 5,511 adult patients | 86% good · range 80%–90% | 78% | 76% | Good2016 |
| ISSA Medical Centre - Dr Z H Patel PR1 6YA · 27,775 adult patients | 83% good · range 32%–98% | 69% | 76% | Good2023 |
| Ribbleton Medical Centre PR2 6RD · 6,902 adult patients | 83% good · range 74%–89% | 86% | 87% | Good2017 |
| Lane Ends Surgery PR2 2JJ · 8,502 adult patients | 82% good · range 69%–90% | 56% | 85% | Good2024 |
| Guttridge Medical Centre PR1 6LL · 3,416 adult patients | 78% good · range 72%–83% | 78% | 69% | Good2024 |
| Briarwood Medical Centre PR2 1HY · 5,995 adult patients | 76% good · range 64%–86% | 66% | 80% | Good2017 |
| Park View Surgery PR1 3NA · 5,417 adult patients | 75% good · range 65%–82% | 71% | 77% | Good2018 |
| Dr R Ali Surgery PR1 6LL · 3,430 adult patients | 73% good · range 68%–78% | 64% | 69% | Good2022 |
| The Park Medical Practice PR2 1JR · 14,086 adult patients | 73% good · range 51%–87% | 63% | 71% | Good2017 |
| Dr C M Wilson & Partners PR1 5AF · 10,408 adult patients | 69% good · range 52%–82% | 64% | 72% | Good2016 |
| Avenham Surgery PR1 3RG · 5,940 adult patients | 68% good · range 60%–75% | 59% | 73% | Good2018 |
| Dr Asad Hussain PR2 6NH · 2,483 adult patients | 67% good · range 63%–71% | 72% | 81% | Good2020 |
The New Hall Lane Practice has the town’s highest rating (87%). ISSA Medical Centre - Dr Z H Patel is by far the largest, with 27,775 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 Preston when its main surgery is inside the built-up area; branch surgeries are part of their main practice. CQC ratings © Care Quality Commission.
83% of adults in the Lancashire and South 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 Preston).
Across England 82% of those who tried got an appointment. Of Lancashire and South Cumbria patients who did, 75% 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.
81% of residents say their health is good or very good
Census 2021, all residents, as answered (not adjusted for age).
Preston’s residents are younger than Lancashire’s (11% are 65 or over, against 20%), which accounts for much of the difference. Adjusted for age, 145 report bad health for every 100 expected, more than the national rate.
Show as a table
| Census 2021 | Preston | Lancashire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 80% | 82% |
| Fair health | 13% | 14% | 13% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.1% | 6.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled under the Equality Act | 19% | 20% | 17% |
| Day-to-day activities limited a lot | 8.6% | 9.1% | 7.4% |
Lancashire and England: all residents of their built-up areas (towns and cities), from the same Census 2021 output areas.
How Preston compares with UK towns of 66,000 to 128,000
Ordered by Health Grade: the top three, the towns either side of Preston, and others in Lancashire. Life expectancy for men / women; deaths under 75 per 100 expected.
| # | Town | People | Life expectancy | Deaths under 75 | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St Albans Hertfordshire | 75,544 | 80.7 / 84.6 | 79 | A− |
| 2 | Maidenhead Berkshire | 67,391 | 81.2 / 85.5 | 77 | B+ |
| 3 | Guildford Surrey | 77,870 | 81.4 / 85.5 | 78 | B+ |
| … | |||||
| 70 | Blackburn Lancashire | 124,958 | 75.6 / 80.0 | 144 | D |
| … | |||||
| 72 | Burnley Lancashire | 78,266 | 75.4 / 79.5 | 151 | D |
| … | |||||
| 74 | Wythenshawe Greater Manchester | 97,665 | 76.2 / 80.4 | 143 | D |
| 75 | Hartlepool County Durham | 88,001 | 76.1 / 80.3 | 139 | D |
| 76 | Preston Lancashire | 94,502 | 74.5 / 79.6 | 163 | D |
| 77 | Rotherham South Yorkshire | 71,535 | 76.2 / 79.9 | 150 | D |
| 78 | St Helens Merseyside | 107,684 | 76.1 / 80.1 | 145 | D− |
| … | |||||
| 84 | Oldham Greater Manchester | 110,722 | 74.0 / 78.2 | 166 | 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 Preston
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preston | 94,502 | 74.5 / 79.6 | 1.7 mi | D |
| Fulwood | 34,693 | 79.0 / 82.1 | 0.7 mi | C |
| Penwortham | 20,489 | 81.3 / 85.1 | 3.5 mi | B− |
| Higher Walton | 1,607 | 79.7 / 86.6 | 4.3 mi | B |
| Cottam | 5,507 | 79.6 / 84.6 | 2.2 mi | B |
| Broughton | 2,468 | 79.5 / 85.1 | 1.5 mi | B+ |
| Bamber Bridge | 40,359 | 79.3 / 82.0 | 4.3 mi | C |
| Grimsargh | 2,594 | 78.2 / 83.2 | 3.2 mi | B− |
Penwortham, 2.2 miles away, has men’s life expectancy of 81.3, 6.8 years longer than Preston’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 Lancashire Teaching Hospitals 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 Preston.
- 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 Preston
How healthy is Preston?
Preston earns a D for health, healthier than 5% of UK towns on measures adjusted for age. Life expectancy is 74.5 for men and 79.6 for women (England 79.1 and 83.0), and there are 163 deaths under 75 for every 100 expected.
Which parts of Preston have the highest life expectancy?
For men, Haslam Park (79.9), Lea & Marina (79.7) and Longsands (77.9); the shortest is St George's (71.5). For women, Lea & Marina is highest (84.4) and St Matthew's lowest (75.0). OHID figures for 2019 to 2023, by neighbourhood of about 8,000 people.
How long are A&E waits at Royal Preston Hospital?
NHS England publishes waits for the trust, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals 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 Preston?
In the 2026 GP Patient Survey, 83% of adults in the Lancashire and South 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 Preston do patients rate highest?
In the 2026 GP Patient Survey, The New Hall Lane Practice (87% good overall), Fishergate Hill Surgery (86% good overall) and ISSA Medical Centre - Dr Z H Patel (83% good overall). Across all 13 Preston practices, 78% of patients rate their practice good, against 77% in England.
What is the life expectancy in Preston?
74.5 years for men and 79.6 for women, on OHID’s figures for 2019 to 2023. Men can expect 58.7 of those years and women 59.9 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.