To ask where in UK has consistently good hospital and health care so we can plan a move there in later life?

[Scandala]

We are not ready to move yet (young DC and careers in London) but we won’t be fit forever so I have one eye on the future decade/s.

Inspired by another thread about over-stretched local hospital, I wondered whether there are any hospitals/trusts that are consistently well run, despite current cuts and pressures?

I know nothing stays the same forever but where would you move to based on performance in previous years for later life if you wanted access to hassle-free NHS care?

Are there any areas of the UK that offer great quality of life and great healthcare?

The other thing I would say on 'quality of life' (massive, sweeping generalisation incoming) is that generally the people I see as having a happy, healthy retirement are those that remain active (both physically and mentally) and engaged socially whether that's with family, friends or 'the wider community' so that is what you need to prioritize above all else. I think where people can go wrong is thinking that by moving to some picturesque, stereotypical lovely area to retire in, often rural or coastal they'll automatically have great quality of life without really considering the reality of living in that place. It may have been what they've assumed for years they'll do but they don't fully take into account what they actually find fulfilling and what 'quality of life' means to them. It's no good moving to the a 'retirement town' coast miles away from all your friends and family so you can take up windsurfing when actually what gives you meaning in life is spending time with your friends and family. It's no good buying a small-holding in the middle of nowhere if you're hoping to attend lots of cultural and educational events. I know it sounds obvious when I say it that way but as someone coming up to this age myself, I think people's thought patterns when they lose the tie of needing to be in a particular area for work and once DC have left home is often that they'll fix everything that's wrong in their life by changing area, perhaps to somewhere they've been on nice holidays or similar, when in fact the things that will really make them happy like their grandchildren, their friends, their hobbies or voluntary work or church are all where they are now and actually you can overlook a lot of non ideal stuff in urban areas if you have those things around you...

Stay in London but think about weight and health now too. Not that everything can be helped but do active ageing etc

The pp re high level of elderly population in some areas is a good one. Social care causing back log is a big issue.

If you want to consider GP services as well as secondary care, this map may be useful: https://www.gponline.com/map-parts-england-patients-per-gp/article/1591001
It's from 2019 so will have got slightly worse all round as we've lost qualified GPs but the distribution is unlikely to have changed much.

Based on that maybe areas near Bristol, Norwich, York or Exeter might be good when taking into account other ideas from this thread. Probably a few others too. These are all cities with medical schools and decent universities so the hospitals should attract good doctors if a previous poster is right. Or maybe Suffolk but near the Cambridgeshire border.

Interesting advice from others to avoid the retirement areas…. Does that mean avoid Dorset, Devon, Norfolk?!

I'd avoid those anyway because a) I grew up in Devon and couldn't wait to get to London b) I don't drive and c) my tolerance for rural life is about 2 weeks. My plan is somewhere near a decent hospital ( I have a condition that needs regular checking and medication tweaking) that's within reasonable distance of London.

I've lived in a lot of places- based on healthcare both GP and the odd A&E experience, the best I've experienced(not perfect but better than others) have been London, Bath, Guildford, oxford (the Radcliffexwas very good imo) and Winchester. Mainly well to do areas admittedly- but also university places and not full of retired people.

@maxelly extremely good advice- don't move for the life you 'think' you will be having and then do none of it. Same applies to moving from a city environment to deepest wales just for a big house etc

Never leave London - you will have primary PCI, stroke thrombolysis, dialysis units, huge number of high dependency and critical care beds, imaging on tap and large number of expert physicians, surgeons, radiologists, pathologists, specialist nurses etc you have general as well as niche interests.
Plus lots of options for transport without relying on being able to drive.

You need at least one hospital nearby that will be able to provide complex care - ideally several

You need to look at the areas of the country you are interested in first, and then take a careful look at the NHS provision for those areas and base your decision on that.

When I lived down south, I had the choice of London or more locally (Windsor area). There were some very good hospitals, but the sheer numbers of people (higher density of population) meant services were extremely overstretched, especially for things like cancer treatments.

These days I live very rurally, on the border of three counties. There are many advantages, partly because there are so few people, there just aren't the waiting lists. There is also more choice, I can choose any hospital I like for my care. For instance, I can go to a local hospital for X-rays but for other needs, I choose to travel to Nottingham's QMC because it has exceptionally good provision for my particular health problem. However, QMC is being investigated for historically poor maternity care, so if I were having babies, it certainly wouldn't be on my list. You need to think what sorts of services you will require.

Some rural areas provide extra services that large towns don't; for instance, here you can get some treatments and all medications provided at the GP surgery. I never need to take prescriptions to the chemist; everything is all dispensed by the surgery itself and even delivered to my home if I couldn't get there.

I agree with PPs, stay in London. When my DP was being treated for cancer they were seen at Kings, Guys & St Thomas'. It was always noticeable in the waiting rooms how many people had travelled for miles/hours to see the same specialist teams.

@Scandala I was impressed by the John Radcliffe in Oxford I must admit and for its size the Royal United in Bath. Both were clean, seemed as well managed as anywhere can be these days- and GP provision was decent- also if you wanted /are able to pay for private tests or specialists etc- it was easy to access in person

I live in Sheffield. Have a fair amount of chronic conditions. Never seem to have to wait very long. Dental hospital is really fast

Lovely go you can book f2f whenever you want. No waiting in a call queue. Just get straight through.

Cornwall doesn't have enough provision for the holiday season. Devon is fine, my family have always had prompt treatment, apart from A and E. Once in the system, it's very good and a choice of hospitals is offered.

As others have said though-London is strong on specialists and you are rarely far from an A&E- you would be suprised once you get outside London how many places are easily 14 or 15 miles from one!!

West Sussex is your best bet. Apparently everything is hunky dory there as their sitting MP has been able to take an extender jungle holiday half way across the world.

Great post and one of the reasons I want to stay urban!

It's a very big criteria for me. Dh and I have talked about it. As a T1 all my life, won't move anywhere without being able to have decent access to all healthcare, GP and big hospital.
From Surrey for the last 20 years I can get to kings twice a year, in just over an hour, train to Waterloo 40 minutes. We can be down at our caravan in Dorset by car in just over 1.5 hours. We have considered retiring to Dorset. I'm not sure where is best though.

Devon seems fine, even for A&E and GP appointments.

I think West Suffolk (not Sussex) is Matt Hancock’s constituency.

West Sussex is quite a big area and we have 8 constituencies here, I think. (The part of W Sussex I’m in has the delightful Peter Bottomley as our MP 😒)

This. We live in SW London and nearest hospital is within 10 minutes drive (slower in traffic though!). We have four large hospitals within 25 minutes of us. All with multiple public transport options.

Yes, all of these hospitals are underfunded and under pressure and frequently have to divert patients to other hospitals, but there is a huge difference in being diverted to a hospital 10-15 minutes away, rather than to the next nearest one over an hour away when you need urgent care.

@Goldbar Interesting point! We live 14 minutes walk from one! BUT even though we have access to multiple hospitals, I would guess that the waiting times would be worse because of demand in urban centres.

I understand the best specialists are at teaching hospitals and many still want to come to London. But I also wonder whether doctors eventually go somewhere else for lifestyle reasons and if so, where do they flock and to?

I don't work for the NHS, but deal with a lot of Trusts and health data. Dorset is by far the best area in my opinion. Their mental health care has been the best in the country for a long time especially.

South Wilshire isn't too bad, but it depends what you're after!

Waiting lists aren't too bad here and occasionally you can be seen very quickly - to the extent we've queued before whether they were doing it under the 2w pathway, to be told, no, they just have space.

Maternity care (including the postnatal ward) was excellent and when I had SPD, i had a physio referral and appointment within a week.

When my family or I have been to A&E, the wait has been less than half an hour each time. Whilst that's probably lucky timing, I don't think the 12hr+ waits that people talk about are a thing here

GP service is frustrating but still just about ok. Trying to book an appointment for something routine is very difficult, but I've sheets been able to get a same day appointment when needed for myself and the children.

We have a walk in clinic from 6-10pm every evening (and in the day at weekends) so anyone can see a GP same day if they want to. I think this helps reduce the pressure in the hospital

I don't think you'd get the same service in many big cities. However, the down side is that for some stuff, you'd have to travel...

Glasgow.
Excellent teaching hospitals.
NHS Scotland is separate from NHS in EnglandandWales.. and very different.

Best hospital experience I’ve had was on Orkney! We were on holiday and ds got an infected foot. We popped into a pharmacy, they took one look at it and told us to drive him to hospital. I forget now if it was A&E or an out of hours doctor service (weekend, daytime), but it was a shiny new hospital, we could park pretty much outside the door (for free!) and when I walked into the empty reception area carrying ds a doctor popped his head round a door and said a cheery “Hello, this must be Bob, come straight through”. It was unreal.