A DENTAL practice has become the first to achieve Investors in People status through a fast-track programme launched earlier this year.

Red House Dental Practice, in Malton, won the award in six months, half the time it usually takes.

The programme, run by Business Link York and North Yorkshire and the Yorkshire Deanery (Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education, University of Leeds), provides guidance for dentists on how to develop and manage their staff.

Red House is one of only a few UK practices to have achieved both the British Dental Association's Good Practice Scheme and the Investors in People award.

Principal dentist at Red House, Richard Marsden, said: "The practice has expanded considerably over the last six months and going through the Investors in People programme helped us to incorporate all the new faces whilst maintaining the great team spirit that was already in place."

The fast-track programme is being rolled out in York, with plans to implement it in Harrogate.