Photo: Robin Webster · CC BY-SA 2.0How long people live in Barrow: 81.4 for men and 82.9 for women
For 2019 to 2023, England’s figures are 79.1 and 83.0. Barrow grades B+ 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 Barrow
More patients are seen within four hours than across England, but 12-hour waits for a bed are commoner
West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the A&E at West Suffolk Hospital, saw 71% of major-A&E patients within four hours in the 12 months to September 2026, against 61% across England: 17th of 117 trusts. 20% of patients admitted through its A&Es waited more than 12 hours from the decision to admit, against 13% in England. A&E ↓
NHS dentists are harder to get than in most of England
Of adults in the Norfolk and Suffolk area who tried to get an NHS dental appointment in the last two years, 76% succeeded; across England it was 82%. Dentists ↓
Fewer of Barrow’s children are obese
14% of Year 6 children (aged 10 to 11) were measured as obese over the last three school years, against 22.3% across England; fewer than in 85% 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.
Barrow grades B+ for health
Healthier than 70% of UK towns, on age-adjusted measures.
What holds the grade back: women’s life expectancy and emergency admissions (better than 35% and 53% of UK towns). What lifts it: preventable deaths (89%) and child obesity (85%). Among the 1,799 UK towns of 1,000 to 3,000 people, Barrow’s Health Grade is the 739th 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.
West Suffolk saw 71% 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: West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust runs the A&E at West Suffolk Hospital, the nearest to Barrow (5.4 mi).
The share seen within four hours has held near 72% over 18 months. Long waits for a bed are commoner than at 74% of trusts: 4,442 patients in 12 months, 20% of emergency admissions through A&E. CQC’s latest ratings for West Suffolk Hospital: urgent and emergency services good (2020), the hospital overall requires improvement (2021).
East of England trusts
Hospitals within 25 miles
| Distance | Hospital | CQC overall | Urgent & emergency |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.4 mi | West Suffolk Hospital A&E Bury St Edmunds · West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust | Requires improvement2021 | Good2020 |
| 5.4 mi | West Suffolk Hospital Pathology Services Bury St Edmunds · East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | — |
| 7.8 mi | Newmarket Hospital Newmarket · West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust | Good2016 | — |
| 18 mi | CPFT at Princess of Wales Hospital Ely · Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | — |
| 18 mi | Princess of Wales Hospital Ely · Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | — |
| 19 mi | CPFT at Brookfields Hospital Cambridge · Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | — |
| 19 mi | Addenbrooke's and the Rosie Hospitals A&E Cambridge · Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | Good2023 | Requires improvement2022 |
| 20 mi | Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Cambridge · Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust | Outstanding2019 | — |
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 Norfolk and Suffolk 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 Barrow).
Across England 82% of those who tried got an appointment. Of Norfolk and Suffolk patients who did, 67% 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.
Care in and near Barrow
The nearest A&E, GP practices, and where to go when it’s urgent but not an emergency. In an emergency, call 999.
No GP practice in Barrow itself
The nearest practices.
| Practice | Distance | CQC rating |
|---|---|---|
| Anglim Health Bury St. Edmunds IP28 6JY | 5 mi | Not rated |
| Victoria Surgery Bury St Edmunds IP33 3BB | 5.1 mi | Good2017 |
| Wickhambrook Surgery Newmarket CB8 8XU | 5.2 mi | Good2016 |
| The Guildhall and Barrow Surgery Bury St Edmunds IP33 1ET | 5.6 mi | Good2019 |
| Angel Hill Surgery Bury St Edmunds IP33 1LU | 5.6 mi | Good2018 |
| Swan Surgery Bury St Edmunds IP33 1AE | 5.7 mi | Good2018 |
GP practices registered with the Care Quality Commission, placed in the town by their postcode. A practice counts as in Barrow when its surgery is inside the built-up area; branch surgeries are part of their main practice. You can register with any practice whose area covers your address.
82% of residents say their health is good or very good
Census 2021, all residents, as answered (not adjusted for age).
Adjusted for age, 76 report bad health for every 100 expected, fewer than the national rate.
Show as a table
| Census 2021 | Barrow | Suffolk | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 81% | 82% |
| Fair health | 13% | 14% | 13% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.5% | 5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled under the Equality Act | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Day-to-day activities limited a lot | 5.8% | 7.4% | 7.4% |
Suffolk and England: all residents of their built-up areas (towns and cities), from the same Census 2021 output areas.
Barrow’s Health Grade is 739th of 1,799 UK towns of 1,000 to 3,000
Ordered by Health Grade: the top three, the towns either side of Barrow, and others in Suffolk. Life expectancy for men / women; deaths under 75 per 100 expected.
| # | Town | People | Life expectancy | Deaths under 75 | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | East Keswick West Yorkshire | 1,145 | 86.0 / 88.4 | 45 | A+ |
| 2 | Bardsey West Yorkshire | 1,819 | 86.0 / 88.4 | 45 | A+ |
| 3 | Collingham West Yorkshire | 2,362 | 86.0 / 88.4 | 45 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 119 | Capel St Mary Suffolk | 2,992 | 84.3 / 85.5 | 62 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 135 | Grundisburgh Suffolk | 1,424 | 83.6 / 86.6 | 55 | A |
| … | |||||
| 164 | Debenham Suffolk | 2,294 | 82.8 / 87.5 | 53 | A |
| … | |||||
| 737 | Tatsfield Surrey | 1,379 | 80.2 / 84.2 | 91 | B+ |
| 738 | Coup Green Lancashire | 1,208 | 79.7 / 86.6 | 78 | B+ |
| 739 | Barrow Suffolk | 1,961 | 81.4 / 82.9 | 74 | B+ |
| 740 | Castle Hedingham Essex | 1,045 | 81.4 / 84.9 | 71 | B+ |
| 741 | Helmsley North Yorkshire | 1,345 | 81.8 / 84.9 | 80 | B+ |
| … | |||||
| 1799 | Fallin Stirling | 2,769 | 71.1 / 75.5 | — | 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 Barrow
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barrow | 1,961 | 81.4 / 82.9 | 5.4 mi | B+ |
| Kentford | 1,124 | 82.1 / 83.1 | 9.5 mi | A− |
| Bury St Edmunds | 41,279 | 80.4 / 84.3 | 1.1 mi | B− |
| Red Lodge | 5,771 | 82.1 / 83.1 | 10 mi | A− |
| Newmarket | 18,857 | 80.7 / 83.9 | 12 mi | B− |
| Cock and End | 1,346 | 82.1 / 84.8 | 11 mi | B− |
| Mildenhall | 9,684 | 78.5 / 82.4 | 12 mi | C |
| Great Barton | 1,848 | 82.0 / 84.7 | 3.7 mi | A |
Mildenhall, 7.9 miles away, has men’s life expectancy of 78.5, 2.9 years shorter than Barrow’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 West Suffolk 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).
- 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 Barrow
How healthy is Barrow?
Barrow earns a B+ for health, healthier than 70% of UK towns on measures adjusted for age, and 739th of 1,799 UK towns of its size. Life expectancy is 81.4 for men and 82.9 for women (England 79.1 and 83.0), and there are 74 deaths under 75 for every 100 expected.
How long are A&E waits at West Suffolk Hospital?
NHS England publishes waits for the trust, West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust. In the 12 months to September 2026 it saw 71% of major-A&E patients within four hours, against 61% across England; in September 2026 the figure was 80%. In an emergency call 999; for urgent advice call NHS 111.
Can I get an NHS dentist in Barrow?
It is harder than in most of England. In the 2026 GP Patient Survey, 76% of adults in the Norfolk and Suffolk 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.
How many GP practices are there in Barrow?
There’s no GP surgery inside Barrow itself; the nearest is about 5 mi away.
What is the life expectancy in Barrow?
81.4 years for men and 82.9 for women, on OHID’s figures for 2019 to 2023. Men can expect 69.4 of those years and women 70.4 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.