Photo: Humphrey Bolton · CC BY-SA 2.0Life expectancy in Shap runs ahead of the figure across England: 82.0 for men and 84.9 for women
For 2019 to 2023, England’s figures are 79.1 and 83.0. Shap has no Health Grade.
What stands out about health in Shap
A&E waits run longer than England’s
North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the A&E at Cumberland Infirmary, saw 54% of major-A&E patients within four hours in the 12 months to September 2026, against 61% across England: 84th of 117 trusts. 16% 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 Shap’s GP practices above England’s
In the 2026 GP Patient Survey, 98% of patients at Shap’s one practice called their overall experience good, against 77% across England, and 86% found it easy to get through by phone (57% in England). That is ahead of 99% of English towns. GP practices ↓
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.
98% of patients rate Shap’s GP practice good
GP Patient Survey 2026 (NHS England, run by Ipsos), about 100 patients a practice, against 77% across England.
| Practice | Overall experience | Easy by phone | Wait about right | CQC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shap Medical Practice CA10 3LW · 2,837 adult patients | 98% good · range 96%–99% | 86% | 90% | Good2019 |
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 Shap when its main surgery is inside the built-up area; branch surgeries are part of their main practice. CQC ratings © Care Quality Commission.
North Cumbria Integrated Care saw 54% 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: North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust runs the A&E at Cumberland Infirmary, the nearest to Shap (28 mi).
The share seen within four hours slipped from an average of 57% in April 2025 to September 2025 to 54% in the latest six months; England’s was 62%. Long waits for a bed are commoner than at 65% of trusts: 4,221 patients in 12 months, 16% of emergency admissions through A&E. CQC’s latest ratings for Cumberland Infirmary: urgent and emergency services requires improvement (2026), the hospital overall requires improvement (2026).
North East and Yorkshire trusts
Hospitals within 25 miles
| Distance | Hospital | CQC overall | Urgent & emergency |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9.1 mi | Penrith Community Hospital Penrith · North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust | Good2023 | — |
| 16 mi | Westmorland General Hospital Kendal · University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust | Good2026 | — |
| 16 mi | Westmorland General Hospital Kendal · Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | — |
| 19 mi | Mary Hewetson Cottage Hospital Keswick · North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | — |
| 22 mi | Ruth Lancaster James Community Hospital Alston · North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust | Not rated | — |
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.
Care in and near Shap
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.
77% of adults in the North East and North Cumbria 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 Shap).
Across England 82% of those who tried got an appointment. Of North East and North Cumbria patients who did, 71% 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.
78% of residents say their health is good or very good
Census 2021, all residents, as answered (not adjusted for age).
Shap’s residents are older than Cumbria’s (28% are 65 or over, against 23%), which accounts for much of the difference. Adjusted for age, 69 report bad health for every 100 expected, fewer than the national rate.
Show as a table
| Census 2021 | Shap | Cumbria | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 79% | 82% |
| Fair health | 18% | 15% | 13% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.6% | 6.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled under the Equality Act | 18% | 20% | 17% |
| Day-to-day activities limited a lot | 6.5% | 8.7% | 7.4% |
Cumbria and England: all residents of their built-up areas (towns and cities), from the same Census 2021 output areas.
Health in the places around Shap
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shap | 902 | 82.0 / 84.9 | 28 mi | — |
| Appleby-in-Westmorland | 3,233 | 82.0 / 84.9 | 29 mi | B+ |
| Penrith | 16,705 | 78.8 / 83.7 | 18 mi | C+ |
Penrith, 9.7 miles away, has men’s life expectancy of 78.8, 3.2 years shorter than Shap’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 North Cumbria Integrated Care 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).
- 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 Shap.
- 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 Shap
How long are A&E waits at Cumberland Infirmary?
NHS England publishes waits for the trust, North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust. In the 12 months to September 2026 it saw 54% of major-A&E patients within four hours, against 61% across England; in September 2026 the figure was 52%. In an emergency call 999; for urgent advice call NHS 111.
Can I get an NHS dentist in Shap?
In the 2026 GP Patient Survey, 77% of adults in the North East and North Cumbria 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 Shap?
Shap has 1 GP practice with surgeries inside the town; 1 of the 1 rated by the Care Quality Commission are good or outstanding.
What is the life expectancy in Shap?
82.0 years for men and 84.9 for women, on OHID’s figures for 2019 to 2023. Men can expect 69.3 of those years and women 70.5 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.