15 greatest and worst locations to dwell in UK to remain wholesome

It’s not just thriving high streets, affordable housing and being in the catchment area of a good school that sways many home buyers.

Living in a healthy area, with low pollution and plenty of green space, and having access to excellent hospitals with low waiting times for treatment and easily accessible GP appointments is another important consideration for house hunters.  

Indeed, where you live can have a profound effect on your health and life expectancy. According to the charity The People’s Health Trust, women born in the most disadvantaged areas of Scotland, on average, live 25 fewer years in good health than those born in affluent areas, while men die 9.7 years earlier.

We’ve consulted health experts and analysed a range of surveys, university studies and data to reveal the best and worst places to live in the UK for access to good healthcare.

THE BEST

Leeds, Yorkshire

Three of this northern city’s nine hospitals are in the UK’s top 50, according to a recent study by Newsweek and global data platform Statista, which rank the UK’s best hospitals annually. 

Leeds, home to 455,000 people, has almost two hospitals per 100,000 people, compared to the UK average of 1.38 hospitals per 100,000 people. 

The Care Quality Commission (CQC), in its latest inspection, said Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust was ‘safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led’, and gave it an overall rating of ‘Good’, while sexual health services were rated ‘Outstanding’ overall.

Great Torrington, Devon

This market town in North Devon is the healthiest place to live in the UK (joint with Appleby-in-Westmorland, below), according to a Access To Healthy Assets And Hazards study by the University of Liverpool. 

It has low levels of pollution, good access to parks, green spaces and health services, and few fast food restaurants, gambling shops, off-licenses, bars and nightclubs. 

Both Torrington Hospital and Torrington Health Centre have been rated as ‘Good’ in recent inspections.

Inner London

While inner London has relatively high air pollution, an abundance of fast food joints and limited green space, this is offset by having, overwhelmingly, the best healthcare provision in the country. 

In Newsweek’s annual survey of the UK’s top 125 hospitals, St Thomas’ in Westminster came first, while five of the top eight were located in inner London. Conversely, just seven of the top 25 are in Scotland and one in Wales. 

A MailOnline analysis of NHS data in 2023 found that London was only beaten for ambulance response times by the Isle of Wight in the four categories of urgency (which range from ‘life-threatening’ illnesses, such as cardiac arrest, to ‘less urgent’ incidents, such as vomiting) for 11 regions of England.

Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria

Nestled in the picturesque Eden Valley, this charming market town on the banks of the River Eden was considered to be the healthiest place to live in England by the Geographic Data Science Lab’s Access To Healthy Assets And Hazards by the University of Liverpool. 

There’s plenty of evidence out there to confirm this: for example, the CQC has rated Appleby Medical Practice as ‘Good’ in recent inspections, while 78 per cent of patients who arrived at A&E at the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (which includes Westmorland General Hospital) last month were seen within four hours, the NHS’s A&E target.

Edinburgh, Scotland

The Scottish capital came second in a recent NowPatient study of cities and towns offering the best healthcare, based on NHS data. 

The city offers very accessible services, with 1.72 hospitals and 1.29 sexual health clinics per 100,000 people (compared to the UK average of 1.4). 

Edinburgh also offers a quick turnaround, with all Scottish hospitals completing an 18-week standard waiting time from GP to treatment, such as cataract surgery or knee replacements (the NHS’s target for non-urgent treatment).

The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh was rated as the 33rd best hospital in Newsweek’s annual ranking of the UK’s top 125 hospitals.

South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear

After a major and comprehensive inspection, the CQC rated South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust’s community-based health services as ‘Outstanding’, and acute hospital care as ‘Good’. 

It highlighted many areas of outstanding practice, including its end-of-life care services at St Benedict’s Hospice in Ryhope, and community sexual health services. 

The hospital provides state-of-the-art vascular services and laser imaging equipment, the first of its kind in the UK and one of only a few worldwide, for surgeries such as heart bypass, stenting and deep vein thrombosis. 

The hospital provides state-of-the-art regional vascular services and laser imaging equipment, the first of its kind in the UK and one of only a few worldwide. 

The Trust’s waiting times for outpatient appointments were consistently better than the England average. 

The 2022 Healthcare Transformers study of the UK’s top healthcare hotspots found this county to be the third best place to live for healthcare in the country, with 97 per cent of patients having confidence in their GPs.

Penarth and Barry, Vale of Glamorgan

Close to Cardiff in the Vale of Glamorgan, Penarth and Barry were considered to be great places to live on the basis of access to healthcare, according to a study by the University of Liverpool. 

With Penarth being just three miles from Cardiff, and Barry nine, they benefit from the Welsh capital’s healthcare provision, including the University Hospital Of Wales, which is considered the best hospital in Wales and came 42nd in Newsweek’s annual ranking of the UK’s top 125 hospitals.

THE WORST

St Davids, Pembrokeshire

Currently all aspects of healthcare are a challenge in Britain’s smallest city. Its closest hospital, Withybush in Haverfordwest, recently closed several wards due to crumbling concrete, resulting in some patients having to travel for 90 minutes to access care. 

Although they have reopened now, patients still face significant disruption due to continuing repair work. 

An independent inspection at Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen, an hour away from Withybush, uncovered overcrowding, with patients sleeping on the floor in A&E and not always receiving consistently safe care. 

Ambulance waiting times in the area are generally bad, with only 56 per cent of the most urgent ‘red calls’ for ambulances in the local health board (Hywel Dda) reaching patients suffering from heart attacks, strokes and other life-threatening illnesses within the NHS’s target time of eight minutes. 

There’s currently a fight to try and save St Davids’ only GP surgery, which is due to be closed. 

Southend-on-Sea, Essex

The resort town’s Southend University Hospital received a CQC rating of ‘Requires improvement’ in 2022, due to staff shortages and them not completing mandatory training, among other issues. 

In 2023, one in five local residents was on an NHS waiting list, the highest rate in the country, while Recent NHS figures revealed more than a third of A&E patients at Mid and South Essex hospitals were not seen within the four-hour target. 

Some 21 per cent of the city’s children are living in poverty, compared with 15 per cent in the rest of England. 

Between the most and least deprived areas, there is a life expectancy gap of nine years for men and ten for women. 

The town received one of the lowest scores for access to healthcare in NowPatient’s analysis of cities and towns offering the best healthcare based on NHS data. 

There are just 0.34 hospitals per 100,000 people, compared to more than four per 100,000 in London and Manchester, and a UK average of 1.4 hospitals.

Newtown, Powys

Rural areas around the country often have bigger problems accessing healthcare. And Newtown, along with Holyhead in Anglesey and Tonna in Neath Port Talbot, was seen by the University of Liverpool’s study to be an area of Wales where healthcare provision was lacking. 

Employment website Indeed has numerous highly critical reviews of working for the local health board (Powys Teaching Health Board), with a former employee condemning its ‘dreadful management, old fashioned ways’, while another said ‘management is all over the place’.

Gloucester

If you want to see a GP in Gloucestershire, you’re likely to be in for a long wait. An analysis of NHS data by Claims.co.uk found that, out of England’s 42 integrated care boards, NHS Gloucestershire came out worst. Nearly 600,000 appointments, or 12 per cent, taking longer than 22 days from booking to consultation. 

Maternity units covered by NHS Gloucestershire are among 10 per cent of maternity units in England that were rated this year as ‘Inadequate’ for safety by the CQC. 

In January, the BBC’s Panorama revealed serious concerns about maternity services in Gloucestershire, with midwives saying that a poor work culture and staff shortages led to baby deaths that could have been avoided.

Thurrock, Essex

NHS Thurrock came second to last in the Healthcare Transformers study of the UK’s top healthcare hotspots. Just 60 per cent of residents described the process of booking a GP appointment as ‘good’, and 72 per cent described their GP experience as ‘good’ or ‘very good’. 

Thurrock has only 4.22 GPs per 10,000 people (compared to a UK average of 5.5). The NHS website has numerous woeful reviews for Thurrock Health Centre, and councillors at one Thurrock health and wellbeing board meeting heard patients were waiting for hours to get through to surgeries by phone, while a patient survey showed that Thurrock had the lowest overall experience rating in Mid and South Essex. 

Out of 7,905 patients ill enough to be admitted to three Mid and South Essex hospitals in February, 2,700 — almost a third — had to wait 12 hours or more from arrival to treatment.

Ashford and Margate, Kent

NHS Kent and Medway came third to last in the Healthcare Transformers study of the UK’s top healthcare hotspots. 

Just 66 per cent of people described the process of booking a GP appointment as ‘good’, and 80 per cent described their GP experience as ‘good’ or ‘very good’. There are just 4.71 GPs per 10,000 people. 

There have been a number of concerns about the standard of care offered at the Trust’s hospitals, including issues concerning security staff and adult safeguarding. 

In October 2022, an independent review into neighbouring East Kent NHS Hospitals Trust found that up to 45 babies who died may have survived had they received better care.

Bradford, West Yorkshire

This West Yorkshire city had just 0.33 hospitals per 100,000 people (compared to a UK average of 1.4), and no hospitals in the area are on Newsweek’s top 125 UK hospitals list. 

In 2022, it was revealed that 104 compensation claims totalling nearly £18 million were made to Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which covers Bradford Royal Infirmary and St Luke’s Hospital. 

More than £17 million was paid to patients and their families who had received insufficient care. 

A further £900,000 was paid out in compensation by Bradford District Care Trust, which is responsible for running community care, including dementia and mental health services.

Portsmouth, Hampshire

NHS Portsmouth came last in the Healthcare Transformers study of the UK’s top healthcare hotspots. 

Just 59 per cent of described the process of booking a GP appointment as ‘good’, and 79 per cent described their GP experience as ‘good’ or ‘very good’. Portsmouth has 4.38 GPs per 10,000 people (compared to a UK average of 5.5), while Northumberland, which came first in the Healthcare Transformers rankings, has 6.95 GPs per 10,000.

Meanwhile, in March, a University of Portsmouth study called Healthwatch Portsmouth found that ‘accessing primary care and specialist services was difficult for Portsmouth residents, mental health services were often inaccessible and did not provide appropriate, ongoing care and dental care was not accessible for many’.