PENRITH'S new NHS dental surgery has opened.

The Gloucester Yard Dental Centre, in Gloucester Yard, is owned and operated by Integrated Dental Holdings Ltd, a company that runs dental practices across the country, including one in Workington.

The centre has been commissioned by Cumbria Primary Care Trust to offer NHS dental treatment to 7,000 people. Already, half of the patients who have been allocated a place have been offered an appointment.

The three dentists operating the surgery have been recruited from abroad: Artur Wiktor from Poland, Atila Rejto from Hungary and Claudia Gomes Conde de Carvalho from Portugal.