Author Archives: Elen Samuel

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About Elen Samuel

I am a doctor, now retired from active practice. I still love reading and writing about medicine, and particularly about how we treat our bodies like we do. What works, what doesn't, why we prefer to do something rather than nothing, why we can't hang on till things get better on their own (as they usually do), and why we get so worried about our health. Apart from that I play the violin in many groups, and I like walking and cycling, and travel.

GP Fat Cats?

Posted on November 28, 2013 by Elen Samuel

I was recently gossiping with an ex-colleague of mine, who works as  a NHS manager. We were talking about colleagues we both knew (in management) who were well known to take their jobs very lightly – they used  to take … Continue reading →

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Vital stuff not to waste your money on

Posted on November 7, 2013 by Elen Samuel

Vitamin. Its derivation is VITal AMINe or Vital amine – an amine essential to life. An amine is a biochemical substance and not all vitamins are in fact amines. But that doesn’t matter – the dictionary definition is “an organic … Continue reading →

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Butter is fine (again!)

Posted on October 30, 2013 by Elen Samuel

For most of the time I was working in general practice, as I was the only female, I saw women with hot flushes and other menopausal symptoms. I advised HRT, which worked fine for the symptoms. Then, as time went … Continue reading →

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How early would you want to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease?

Posted on September 12, 2013 by Elen Samuel

How early would you want to know you have Alzheimer’s disease? Say you are in your fifties or sixties, and one or both parents died recently of (or with) a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease? Possibly you were the carer and … Continue reading →

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Where do you get the best healthcare – France America or the UK?

Posted on September 4, 2013 by Elen Samuel

Last week I did a live broadcast for Radio Wales, to publicise my book.  The first question I was asked was – after 65 years, how does the NHS stand up compared to other countries? Is it fit for purpose … Continue reading →

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Fat Children

Posted on August 28, 2013 by Elen Samuel

The saddest thing about the world’s obesity epidemic is that so many children, some very young, are getting fat, and this is a new development over the last twenty years. I said in my last blog that we don’t know … Continue reading →

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Why are we fat (some of us anyway!)?

Posted on August 19, 2013 by Elen Samuel

Why are we fat? Recently I read an article about the science of obesity, which I found very interesting 1. The fact is, we don’t know what causes obesity. People get fat because they eat more than they “need” but … Continue reading →

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A Tale of Broken Bones in a pair of Twins

Posted on August 15, 2013 by Elen Samuel

I like writing about healthcare; and the different ways it is provided  and delivered all over the world. So here is a taster. This is a tale of 68-year-old twins who both suffered fractures in different countries but with very … Continue reading →

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