Peterborough GP stunned after being given MBE in New Year's Honours List

Dr Nalini Modha (66) said she got a shiver down her spine when she found out she had been given the award for services to the NHS.

Dr Modha, from the Thistlemoor Medical Centre in Thistlemoor Road, New England, Peterborough, started running the surgery with her husband 25 years ago when it had just 700 patients - now it has 27,000 people registered, and can see up to 600 patients in a single morning.

She was told the news she was getting an MBE a few weeks ago, and has had to keep it a secret until today..

She said: "A couple of weeks ago I got a letter from a Government department - I thought 'what have I done now.'

When I opened it and read it, a shiver went through my spine - I was not expecting it at all. I have only been able to tell my immediate family"

The surgery is a family run practice, with her husband and son both working there.

She said: "We have some amazing staff here. We have more than 100 here, with about 85 who are patient facing.

"Working alongside my son and husband has been very special.

"We can see 400 to 600 patients in a single morning, with no appointments, dealing with everything, from children's immunisations to taking people's blood pressure.

The surgery has an outstanding CQC rating, and Dr Modha said caring for the patients was the top priority for her and the team.

She said: When we started, the way services were provided was very different to what it is now.

"I have had the chance to go to America, and to see how they did services over there, working with Harvard University.

When I started all we had was an NVQ, but I was able to bring what I learnt in America over here."

Dr Modha turned the practice into a training centre 13 years ago, and has since trained hundreds of healthcare professionals, many of whom have gone on to be nurses, or work in general practice and different sectors within the NHS.

Between 1992 and 2002 she worked as a police surgeon, and was involved in more than 800 rape and child abuse cases throughout her career. She still continues to work with charitable organisations including the Salvation Army, helping those less fortunate.