A STOURBRIDGE GP has officially been appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire.

HRH The Prince of Wales presented Dr David Hegarty with the MBE at Buckingham Palace after he was recognised in The Queen's New Year's Honours list for services to health.

Dr Hegarty said receiving his MBE for his roles as GP partner at Wychbury Medical Group, chairman of West Midlands Clinical Senate and chairman of Dudley Clinical Commissioning Group was "a genuinely humbling experience and an incredible day from start to finish".

He added: "In isolation I would not have made the achievements I have and I believe this honour is attributable to the many committed people who I have had the pleasure of working with over the last 26 years.

"I would like to thank my wife, family, colleagues and great GPs in Dudley for their support and also my patients for maintaining my passion for the NHS and primary care.”

Paul Maubach, chief executive officer at Dudley CCG, nominated Dr Hegarty and said: “There can be no doubt that David’s tireless commitment to the care of people in Dudley and beyond means that not only do we have substantially better quality and safer services but many of those services are at the leading edge of innovation and development."