Photo: John M · CC BY-SA 2.08 years separate the longest- and shortest-lived parts of Willenhall
Inside the town, men’s life expectancy runs from 74.1 in Bentley to 82.1 in Ashmore, 1.9 miles apart. Life expectancy is 77.4 for men and 81.8 for women. England as a whole stood at 79.1 and 83.0 over 2019 to 2023. Willenhall grades D for health: life expectancy, healthy life expectancy, early deaths, hospital admissions, child obesity and Census health, each adjusted for age; #23 of 35 in West Midlands.
What stands out about health in Willenhall
An 8-year gap from one part of Willenhall to another
Men in Ashmore can expect to live to 82.1, longer than the English average of 79.1. In Bentley, 1.9 miles away, the figure is 74.1, and Bentley records 163 deaths under 75 for every 100 expected for its ages. For women the range is 79.4 in Bentley to 85.1 in Ashmore. Neighbourhoods ↓
More A&E patients are seen within four hours than across England
Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs the A&E at Manor Hospital, saw 69% of major-A&E patients within four hours in the 12 months to September 2026, against 61% across England: 20th of 117 trusts. 7.2% 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 Willenhall’s children are obese
28% 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 96% of UK towns. Health Grade ↓
NHS dentists are easier to get than in most of England
Of adults in the Black Country area who tried to get an NHS dental appointment in the last two years, 86% succeeded, 5th 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.
Willenhall grades D for health
Healthier than 11% of UK towns, on age-adjusted measures.
Behind the typical UK town on every measure. Even its strongest, disability and women’s life expectancy, are in the bottom 25% of UK towns; child obesity and emergency admissions are furthest behind. Among the 149 UK towns of 35,000 to 67,000 people, Willenhall’s Health Grade is the 111th 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 Willenhall runs from 74.1 to 82.1
Life expectancy at birth, 2019–23, in Willenhall’s 7 middle-layer neighbourhoods (about 8,000 people each). Circles are sized by residents and show men’s life expectancy.
The gap follows deprivation closely: Willenhall Park, where 42% of residents are income-deprived, has men’s life expectancy of 76.9. Bentley has the most deaths under 75 for its ages (163 per 100 expected), against 75 in Ashmore.
Show every measure as a table
| Neighbourhood | Men | Women | Deaths under 75 | Emergency admissions | Year 6 obese | Income-deprived |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashmore | 82.1 | 85.1 | 75 | 94 | 25% | 22% |
| Short Heath West | 79.1 | 83.5 | 104 | 108 | 28% | 23% |
| Short Heath East | 78.9 | 82.0 | 120 | 116 | 31% | 28% |
| Willenhall Park | 76.9 | 80.4 | 139 | 124 | 30% | 42% |
| New Invention | 76.6 | 81.4 | 116 | 122 | 25% | 32% |
| Willenhall Town | 76.4 | 82.2 | 138 | 119 | 28% | 36% |
| Bentley | 74.1 | 79.4 | 163 | 138 | 30% | 41% |
Deaths and admissions per 100 expected for each area’s ages (England = 100). Each figure has a range: Bentley’s men’s life expectancy is 74.1 with a 95% range of 71.7 to 76.5. Neighbourhoods are ONS middle-layer areas at least 30% inside Willenhall; names are the House of Commons Library’s.
Walsall Healthcare saw 69% 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: Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust runs the A&E at Manor Hospital, the nearest to Willenhall (2 mi).
The share seen within four hours rose from an average of 67% in April 2025 to September 2025 to 73% in the latest six months; England’s was 62%. Long waits for a bed are rarer than at 67% of trusts: 3,704 patients in 12 months, 7.2% of emergency admissions through A&E. CQC’s latest ratings for Manor Hospital: urgent and emergency services requires improvement (2024), the hospital overall requires improvement (2026).
Midlands trusts
Hospitals within 25 miles
| Distance | Hospital | CQC overall | Urgent & emergency |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 mi | Manor Hospital A&E Walsall · Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust | Requires improvement2026 | Requires improvement2024 |
| 2.3 mi | New Cross Hospital A&E Wolverhampton · The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust | Requires improvement2026 | Requires improvement2026 |
| 5.5 mi | Guest Hospital Dudley · The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | — |
| 6.7 mi | Cannock Chase Hospital Cannock · The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust | Good2020 | — |
| 7.3 mi | Russells Hall Hospital A&E Dudley · The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust | Requires improvement2023 | Requires improvement2023 |
| 8 mi | Rowley Regis Hospital Rowley Regis · Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust | Not rated | — |
| 8.2 mi | Midland Metropolitan University Hospital A&E Smethwick · Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust | Not rated | Good2026 |
| 9.8 mi | Good Hope Hospital A&E Sutton Coldfield · University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | Requires improvement2025 |
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.
86% of adults in the Black Country 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 Willenhall).
Black Country has the 5th highest of England’s 36 health areas; across England 82% of those who tried got an appointment. Of Black Country patients who did, 77% 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 Willenhall is 0.7 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.
33% of Willenhall’s residents are income-deprived, more than in most English towns. For that level, the line predicts 76.7 years for men; Willenhall’s is 77.4. For women it predicts 80.9, and Willenhall’s 81.8 is 0.9 years above.
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 Willenhall
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 Willenhall’s 8 GP practices good
GP Patient Survey 2026 (NHS England, run by Ipsos), about 100 patients a practice, against 77% across England. 53rd of 124 English towns of 35,000 to 67,000, from the highest.
| Practice | Overall experience | Easy by phone | Wait about right | CQC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croft Surgery WV13 2DR · 5,109 adult patients | 91% good · range 83%–96% | 92% | 66% | Good2024 |
| Lockstown Practice WV13 2DR · 6,182 adult patients | 87% good · range 79%–92% | 62% | 49% | Good2017 |
| Stroud Practice WS2 0BA · 6,942 adult patients | 85% good · range 70%–93% | 79% | 73% | Good2016 |
| Modality Kingfisher Darlaston Practice WS2 0BA · 10,347 adult patients | 79% good · range 54%–92% | 54% | 66% | Good2023 |
| Lockfield Surgery WV13 2DR · 8,335 adult patients | 75% good · range 58%–87% | 63% | 60% | Good2022 |
| Sina Health Centre WV12 5XZ · 5,684 adult patients | 68% good · range 58%–77% | 49% | 55% | Good2024 |
| New Invention Health Centre WV12 5RZ · 5,531 adult patients | 68% good · range 56%–78% | 68% | 51% | Good2023 |
| The Keys Family Practice WV13 2NZ · 3,485 adult patients | 67% good · range 60%–73% | 63% | 72% | Good2020 |
Croft Surgery has the town’s highest rating (91%). 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 Willenhall when its main surgery is inside the built-up area; branch surgeries are part of their main practice. CQC ratings © Care Quality Commission.
78% of residents say their health is good or very good
Census 2021, all residents, as answered (not adjusted for age).
Adjusted for age, 129 report bad health for every 100 expected, more than the national rate.
Show as a table
| Census 2021 | Willenhall | West Midlands | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 80% | 82% |
| Fair health | 15% | 14% | 13% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.5% | 6% | 5.2% |
| Disabled under the Equality Act | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Day-to-day activities limited a lot | 9% | 8.1% | 7.4% |
West Midlands and England: all residents of their built-up areas (towns and cities), from the same Census 2021 output areas.
Willenhall’s Health Grade is 111th of 149 UK towns of 35,000 to 67,000
Ordered by Health Grade: the top three, the towns either side of Willenhall, and others in West Midlands. Life expectancy for men / women; deaths under 75 per 100 expected.
| # | Town | People | Life expectancy | Deaths under 75 | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fleet Hampshire | 37,800 | 83.3 / 85.7 | 58 | A+ |
| 2 | Wokingham Berkshire | 50,320 | 82.7 / 86.1 | 67 | A+ |
| 3 | West Molesey Surrey | 47,144 | 82.5 / 86.3 | 63 | A |
| … | |||||
| 42 | Halesowen West Midlands | 60,103 | 80.0 / 83.9 | 98 | C |
| 43 | Stourbridge West Midlands | 56,961 | 79.1 / 83.7 | 97 | C |
| … | |||||
| 47 | Kingswinford West Midlands | 51,900 | 79.8 / 82.6 | 93 | C |
| … | |||||
| 109 | Rowley Regis West Midlands | 39,052 | 76.9 / 81.1 | 128 | D |
| 110 | Widnes Cheshire | 59,938 | 77.7 / 81.2 | 126 | D |
| 111 | Willenhall West Midlands | 49,582 | 77.4 / 81.8 | 126 | D |
| 112 | Mansfield Nottinghamshire | 63,448 | 77.0 / 81.2 | 126 | D |
| 113 | Ramsgate Kent | 42,031 | 76.5 / 81.6 | 138 | D |
| … | |||||
| 149 | Greenock Inverclyde | 42,870 | 73.5 / 78.2 | — | 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 Willenhall
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willenhall | 49,582 | 77.4 / 81.8 | 2 mi | D |
| Darlaston | 21,541 | 75.1 / 78.8 | 1.9 mi | D− |
| Bloxwich | 51,891 | 75.5 / 78.8 | 2.3 mi | D− |
| Essington | 3,471 | 76.1 / 81.1 | 2.5 mi | C− |
| Bilston | 34,631 | 75.1 / 79.9 | 2.7 mi | D− |
| Walsall | 70,777 | 76.5 / 81.6 | 0.9 mi | D |
| Wednesbury | 20,321 | 74.6 / 80.1 | 1.8 mi | D− |
| Wolverhampton | 234,029 | 76.9 / 81.1 | 1.3 mi | D |
Wednesbury, 2.9 miles away, has men’s life expectancy of 74.6, 2.8 years shorter than Willenhall’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 Walsall Healthcare 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 Willenhall.
- 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 Willenhall
How healthy is Willenhall?
Willenhall earns a D for health, healthier than 11% of UK towns on measures adjusted for age, and 111th of 149 UK towns of its size. Life expectancy is 77.4 for men and 81.8 for women (England 79.1 and 83.0), and there are 126 deaths under 75 for every 100 expected.
Which parts of Willenhall have the highest life expectancy?
For men, Ashmore (82.1), Short Heath West (79.1) and Short Heath East (78.9); the shortest is Bentley (74.1). For women, Ashmore is highest (85.1) and Bentley lowest (79.4). OHID figures for 2019 to 2023, by neighbourhood of about 8,000 people.
How long are A&E waits at Manor Hospital?
NHS England publishes waits for the trust, Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust. In the 12 months to September 2026 it saw 69% of major-A&E patients within four hours, against 61% across England; in September 2026 the figure was 67%. In an emergency call 999; for urgent advice call NHS 111.
Can I get an NHS dentist in Willenhall?
It is easier than in most of England. In the 2026 GP Patient Survey, 86% of adults in the Black Country 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 Willenhall do patients rate highest?
In the 2026 GP Patient Survey, Croft Surgery (91% good overall), Lockstown Practice (87% good overall) and Stroud Practice (85% good overall). Across all 8 Willenhall practices, 78% of patients rate their practice good, against 77% in England.
What is the life expectancy in Willenhall?
77.4 years for men and 81.8 for women, on OHID’s figures for 2019 to 2023. Men can expect 61.1 of those years and women 61.7 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.