Photo: David Howard · CC BY-SA 2.0How long people live in Bexley: 79.8 for men and 83.5 for women
Inside the borough, men’s life expectancy runs from 75.1 in Slade Green & Crayford Marshes to 82.9 in Bursted Wood, 2 miles apart. Across England the figures for 2019 to 2023 are 79.1 and 83.0. Bexley grades C+ for health: life expectancy, healthy life expectancy, early deaths, hospital admissions, child obesity and Census health, each adjusted for age; #14 of 33 in London.
What stands out about health in Bexley
An 8-year gap from one part of Bexley to another
Men in Bursted Wood can expect to live to 82.9, longer than the English average of 79.1. In Slade Green & Crayford Marshes, 2 miles away, the figure is 75.1, and Slade Green & Crayford Marshes records 139 deaths under 75 for every 100 expected for its ages. For women the range is 79.8 in Sidcup West to 86.8 in Lesnes Abbey. Neighbourhoods ↓
A&E waits run longer than England’s
Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, which runs the A&E at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, saw 50% of major-A&E patients within four hours in the 12 months to September 2026, against 61% across England: 103rd of 117 trusts. 15% of patients admitted through its A&Es waited more than 12 hours from the decision to admit, against 13% in England. A&E ↓
Patients rate Bexley’s GP practices below England’s
In the 2026 GP Patient Survey, 72% of patients at Bexley’s 19 practices called their overall experience good, against 77% across England, and 53% found it easy to get through by phone (57% in England). That is behind 78% of English towns. GP practices ↓
More of Bexley’s children are obese
23% 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 76% of UK towns. Health Grade ↓
NHS dentists are easier to get than in most of England
Of adults in the South East London area who tried to get an NHS dental appointment in the last two years, 87% succeeded, 3rd highest of 36; across England it was 82%. Dentists ↓
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.
Bexley grades C+ for health
Healthier than 39% of UK towns, on age-adjusted measures.
What holds the grade back: emergency admissions and child obesity (better than 24% and 24% of UK towns). What lifts it: disability (70%) and Census bad health (48%). Among the 48 UK towns of 172,000 to 332,000 people, Bexley’s Health Grade is the 10th 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 Bexley runs from 75.1 to 82.9
Life expectancy at birth, 2019–23, in Bexley’s 27 middle-layer neighbourhoods (about 8,000 people each). Circles are sized by residents and show men’s life expectancy.
The gap follows deprivation closely: Slade Green & Crayford Marshes, where 36% of residents are income-deprived, has men’s life expectancy of 75.1. Slade Green & Crayford Marshes has the most deaths under 75 for its ages (139 per 100 expected), against 73 in Bursted Wood.
Show every measure as a table
| Neighbourhood | Men | Women | Deaths under 75 | Emergency admissions | Year 6 obese | Income-deprived |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bursted Wood | 82.9 | 84.4 | 73 | 80 | 18% | 9.5% |
| Albany Park | 82.9 | 85.8 | 72 | 81 | 14% | 8.9% |
| Danson Park | 82.6 | 85.0 | 74 | 87 | 18% | 9.2% |
| Longlands & Halfway | 82.6 | 84.2 | 66 | 93 | 14% | 8.5% |
| Falconwood | 82.2 | 84.9 | 74 | 86 | 19% | 9.3% |
| Bexley Village | 81.9 | 85.7 | 71 | 83 | 14% | 7.6% |
| Bostall | 81.9 | 86.5 | 65 | 88 | 18% | 10% |
| Lamorbey | 81.5 | 85.3 | 80 | 78 | 19% | 8.4% |
| Barnehurst South | 81.3 | 83.0 | 82 | 105 | 23% | 17% |
| Wickham Street & East Wickham | 80.8 | 82.9 | 79 | 98 | 21% | 19% |
| Lesnes Abbey | 80.5 | 86.8 | 81 | 94 | 33% | 14% |
| Barnehurst North | 80.5 | 83.4 | 77 | 96 | 21% | 10% |
| Sidcup East | 80.5 | 84.2 | 82 | 92 | 20% | 16% |
| Blackfen | 80.4 | 84.8 | 81 | 90 | 16% | 13% |
| St Michael's | 80.3 | 83.7 | 81 | 101 | 21% | 16% |
| Welling | 79.8 | 86.3 | 73 | 86 | 21% | 15% |
| Northumberland Heath | 79.7 | 83.4 | 100 | 103 | 24% | 22% |
| Bexleyheath Broadway | 79.2 | 81.9 | 100 | 103 | 23% | 16% |
| Lesney Farm & Colyers East | 79.1 | 81.7 | 120 | 127 | 28% | 32% |
| Sidcup West | 78.9 | 79.8 | 101 | 96 | 16% | 14% |
| Erith West | 78.5 | 83.0 | 95 | 109 | 23% | 21% |
| Crayford | 78.2 | 82.4 | 107 | 108 | 21% | 23% |
| Foots Cray Meadows | 78.2 | 83.5 | 98 | 122 | 25% | 30% |
| Belvedere & Lessness Heath | 76.9 | 82.2 | 113 | 114 | 29% | 29% |
| South Thamesmead | 76.2 | 82.1 | 101 | 112 | 31% | 34% |
| Erith East | 76.2 | 81.9 | 135 | 121 | 31% | 36% |
| Slade Green & Crayford Marshes | 75.1 | 80.8 | 139 | 131 | 30% | 36% |
Deaths and admissions per 100 expected for each area’s ages (England = 100). Each figure has a range: Slade Green & Crayford Marshes’s men’s life expectancy is 75.1 with a 95% range of 73.5 to 76.6. Neighbourhoods are ONS middle-layer areas at least 30% inside Bexley; names are the House of Commons Library’s.
Lewisham and Greenwich saw 50% 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: Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust runs the A&E at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, the nearest to Bexley (3.8 mi).
The share seen within four hours slipped from an average of 50% in April 2025 to September 2025 to 48% in the latest six months; England’s was 62%. Long waits for a bed are commoner than at 61% of trusts: 7,585 patients in 12 months, 15% of emergency admissions through A&E. CQC’s latest ratings for Queen Elizabeth Hospital: urgent and emergency services good (2026), the hospital overall good (2026).
London trusts
Hospitals within 25 miles
| Distance | Hospital | CQC overall | Urgent & emergency |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.7 mi | Erith & District Hospital Erith · Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust | Not rated | — |
| 3.3 mi | Guy's Cancer Queen Mary's Hospital Sidcup · Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | — |
| 3.3 mi | Queen Mary's Hospital Sidcup · Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust | Not rated | — |
| 3.3 mi | Queen Mary's Hospital Sidcup · Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust | Good2018 | — |
| 3.6 mi | Eltham Community Hospital London · Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust | Not rated | — |
| 3.8 mi | Queen Elizabeth Hospital A&E London · Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust | Good2026 | Good2026 |
| 5.5 mi | Barking Community Hospital Barking · Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust | Not rated | — |
| 5.6 mi | Darent Valley Hospital A&E Dartford · Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust | Good2022 | Good2022 |
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.
72% of patients rate Bexley’s 19 GP practices good
GP Patient Survey 2026 (NHS England, run by Ipsos), about 100 patients a practice, against 77% across England. 35th of 46 English towns of 172,000 to 332,000, from the highest.
| Practice | Overall experience | Easy by phone | Wait about right | CQC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ingleton Avenue Surgery DA16 2JZ · 3,873 adult patients | 93% good · range 91%–94% | 99% | 91% | Good2024 |
| Dr WA Cotter + Dr JCJM Bohmer -Laubis DA16 3RE · 9,230 adult patients | 86% good · range 76%–92% | 65% | 58% | Good2020 |
| Plas Meddyg Surgery DA5 1HU · 5,979 adult patients | 84% good · range 75%–90% | 71% | 66% | Good2016 |
| Woodlands Primary Care DA15 8DF · 9,301 adult patients | 83% good · range 70%–91% | 47% | 69% | Good2020 |
| Lyndhurst Medical Centre DA7 6DL · 9,821 adult patients | 81% good · range 69%–89% | 76% | 67% | Good2021 |
| Bexley Medical Group DA7 5RF · 16,398 adult patients | 80% good · range 59%–92% | 62% | 65% | Good2020 |
| Welling Medical Practice DA16 2AT · 9,323 adult patients | 79% good · range 67%–87% | 64% | 70% | Good2025 |
| Northumberland Heath Medical Centre DA8 3DB · 11,594 adult patients | 75% good · range 61%–85% | 61% | 59% | Good2023 |
| The Westwood Surgery DA16 2HE · 7,610 adult patients | 73% good · range 66%–78% | 56% | 55% | Good2020 |
| Bexley Group Practice DA16 3HQ · 11,243 adult patients | 73% good · range 56%–84% | 59% | 61% | Good2024 |
| The Albion Surgery DA6 7LP · 12,831 adult patients | 71% good · range 52%–85% | 36% | 58% | Good2016 |
| Belvedere Medical Centre DA17 5LQ · 14,137 adult patients | 71% good · range 48%–86% | 40% | 47% | Good2020 |
| Barnard Medical Group DA14 4TA · 10,916 adult patients | 70% good · range 58%–79% | 47% | 48% | Good2016 |
| Dr S Bhadra & Dr A Padiyar Partners DA8 1RQ · 9,542 adult patients | 67% good · range 58%–74% | 46% | 55% | Good2022 |
| Crayford Town Surgery DA1 4ER · 7,791 adult patients | 64% good · range 52%–74% | 44% | 31% | Good2016 |
| Slade Green Medical Centre DA8 2HS · 8,655 adult patients | 63% good · range 53%–72% | 59% | 43% | Good2017 |
| Sidcup Medical Centre DA14 6BU · 16,366 adult patients | 63% good · range 43%–78% | 30% | 46% | Good2026 |
| Dr Davies & Partner DA7 5HL · 4,539 adult patients | 61% good · range 55%–67% | 47% | 36% | Good2020 |
| Lakeside Medical Practice SE2 9LH · 14,991 adult patients | 61% good · range 38%–80% | 48% | 68% | Good2025 |
Ingleton Avenue Surgery has the borough’s highest rating (93%). 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 Bexley when its main surgery is inside the built-up area; branch surgeries are part of their main practice. CQC ratings © Care Quality Commission.
87% of adults in the South East London 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 Bexley).
South East London has the 3rd highest of England’s 36 health areas; across England 82% of those who tried got an appointment. Of South East London patients who did, 78% 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 Bexley is about 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.
19% of Bexley’s residents are income-deprived, about the middle for English towns. For that level, the line predicts 79.8 years for men; Bexley’s is 79.8. For women it predicts 83.6, and Bexley’s 83.5 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 Bexley
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.
84% of residents say their health is good or very good
Census 2021, all residents, as answered (not adjusted for age).
Bexley’s residents are older than London’s (17% are 65 or over, against 12%), which accounts for much of the difference. Adjusted for age, 86 report bad health for every 100 expected, fewer than the national rate.
Show as a table
| Census 2021 | Bexley | London | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 85% | 82% |
| Fair health | 11% | 10% | 13% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.3% | 4.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled under the Equality Act | 15% | 13% | 17% |
| Day-to-day activities limited a lot | 6.3% | 5.8% | 7.4% |
London and England: all residents of their built-up areas (towns and cities), from the same Census 2021 output areas.
Bexley’s Health Grade is 10th of 48 UK towns of 172,000 to 332,000
Ordered by Health Grade: the top three, the towns either side of Bexley, and others in London. Life expectancy for men / women; deaths under 75 per 100 expected.
| # | Town | People | Life expectancy | Deaths under 75 | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richmond upon Thames London | 192,888 | 82.2 / 86.6 | 64 | A |
| 2 | Bromley London | 325,469 | 81.3 / 85.1 | 78 | B+ |
| 3 | Harrow London | 260,534 | 80.9 / 85.2 | 78 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 8 | Redbridge London | 309,509 | 79.6 / 84.0 | 91 | C+ |
| 9 | Camden London | 209,342 | 79.6 / 85.0 | 96 | C+ |
| 10 | Bexley London | 246,074 | 79.8 / 83.5 | 92 | C+ |
| 11 | Hammersmith and Fulham London | 182,187 | 78.5 / 83.9 | 104 | C+ |
| 12 | Reading Berkshire | 203,789 | 79.6 / 83.5 | 104 | C+ |
| … | |||||
| 48 | Belfast Belfast | 293,298 | 76.3 / 80.5 | — | 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 Bexley
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bexley | 246,074 | 79.8 / 83.5 | 3.8 mi | C+ |
| Joyden's Wood | 4,912 | 83.7 / 87.6 | 3.9 mi | A |
| Greenwich | 288,117 | 78.1 / 82.0 | 0.4 mi | C− |
| Dartford | 69,131 | 78.2 / 83.1 | 1.7 mi | C |
| Hextable | 4,100 | 78.9 / 83.8 | 3.6 mi | C+ |
| Purfleet-on-Thames | 5,881 | 74.0 / 79.7 | 3.5 mi | C− |
| Swanley | 17,209 | 79.5 / 83.4 | 4.6 mi | C− |
| Hawley | 1,386 | 81.1 / 84.1 | 1.8 mi | B |
Purfleet-on-Thames, 4.6 miles away, has men’s life expectancy of 74.0, 5.8 years shorter than Bexley’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 Lewisham and Greenwich NHS 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 Bexley.
- 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 Bexley
How healthy is Bexley?
Bexley earns a C+ for health, healthier than 39% of UK towns on measures adjusted for age, and 10th of 48 UK towns of its size. Life expectancy is 79.8 for men and 83.5 for women (England 79.1 and 83.0), and there are 92 deaths under 75 for every 100 expected.
Which parts of Bexley have the highest life expectancy?
For men, Bursted Wood (82.9), Albany Park (82.9) and Danson Park (82.6); the shortest is Slade Green & Crayford Marshes (75.1). For women, Lesnes Abbey is highest (86.8) and Sidcup West lowest (79.8). OHID figures for 2019 to 2023, by neighbourhood of about 8,000 people.
How long are A&E waits at Queen Elizabeth Hospital?
NHS England publishes waits for the trust, Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust. In the 12 months to September 2026 it saw 50% of major-A&E patients within four hours, against 61% across England; in September 2026 the figure was 44%. In an emergency call 999; for urgent advice call NHS 111.
Can I get an NHS dentist in Bexley?
It is easier than in most of England. In the 2026 GP Patient Survey, 87% of adults in the South East London 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 Bexley do patients rate highest?
In the 2026 GP Patient Survey, Ingleton Avenue Surgery (93% good overall), Dr WA Cotter + Dr JCJM Bohmer -Laubis (86% good overall) and Plas Meddyg Surgery (84% good overall). Across all 19 Bexley practices, 72% of patients rate their practice good, against 77% in England.
What is the life expectancy in Bexley?
79.8 years for men and 83.5 for women, on OHID’s figures for 2019 to 2023. Men can expect 66.4 of those years and women 67.6 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.