Tag Archives: health

Doctors under Investigation

Posted on September 5, 2026 by Elen Samuel

Doctors, like everyone else, can make mistakes. I sometimes wonder what the general public thinks about this – what sort of investigations they think doctors should get, and what punishments would be appropriate. But should the process ever be so awful … Continue reading →

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Musings on memory loss and dementia

Posted on June 24, 2026 by Elen Samuel

We live in a world with an ageing population. That can be a good thing, as it means that the total population is beginning to reduce, which is crucial if conditions on the earth are to continue to be conducive … Continue reading →

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Childcare woes

Posted on January 4, 2026 by Elen Samuel

Yesterday I was flipping through a medical journal and read something that brought back the past very vividly. It was an account of how a young GP, who was a mother of school age children, was struck off the medical … Continue reading →

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Interesting snippets on getting adequate medical care

Posted on October 29, 2025 by Elen Samuel

Last year I wrote a blog “Women’s bodies shamed in medicine”, (1) on how women are treated both as doctors and as patients, and how their position as doctors has improved out of all recognition in the last fifty years. There … Continue reading →

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A brave new world of lower waiting lists in the NHS?

Posted on January 7, 2025 by Elen Samuel

Thank goodness, the new government is trying very hard to speed up the process of diagnosis and treatment to reduce waiting lists in the NHS, and I think they are on the right track. Allowing patients to book their own … Continue reading →

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NHS funding – Where should our priorities be?

Posted on November 7, 2024 by Elen Samuel

With all this talk of the latest budget giving a huge amount of money to the NHS, it is now necessary to look at how this amount of money can be spent in order to rescue the health of this … Continue reading →

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Can the NHS survive?

Posted on January 3, 2024 by Elen Samuel

While going about my normal life, fitting in appointments for dentists and  eye tests amongst shopping and hair appointments, I sometimes think about the changes in provision for these first two since I retired from clinical practice  over ten years … Continue reading →

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Why do parts of the media really enjoy criticizing the NHS in Wales?

Posted on January 16, 2018 by Elen Samuel

It is generally considered that the NHS in Wales performs much worse than the English NHS. The Daily Mail is always saying so and many other commentators too. So when Theresa May recently asked – “If the Labour Party have … Continue reading →

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Old age doesn’t come by itself – part 3

Posted on November 28, 2016 by Elen Samuel

It seems characteristic of older people these days that we think of ourselves as much younger than these old people we see around us. This because inside we still think of ourselves as being youthful if we feel well, even … Continue reading →

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Old age doesn’t come by itself – part 2.

Posted on November 2, 2016 by Elen Samuel

There is no doubt that the effects of getting older can be very troublesome. With the insouciance of youth in the surgery I would often joke about it, and sometimes say “well, the alternative is worse”, meaning that at least … Continue reading →

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