Welsh clinic posts health tips on YouTube

BUILTH WELLS, Wales, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- The Web site YouTube.com, known for spoofing, violent and off-the-wall videos, also is home to a series of health education films posted by a Welsh clinic.

To educate its patients locally and a broader audience globally, the general practice clinic uploaded videos on subjects such as flu vaccines, inhalers and smear tests, the Western Mail said Friday.

Richard Walters, a general practitioner at Builth and Llanwrtyd Medical Practice, said he thought the Internet posting represented the future in providing extra services to patients.

"There are a lot of things that we do in a GP practice that have to be conveyed to patients, some of which are not easy to demonstrate," Walters told the Western Mail. "Sometimes getting patients to watch a quick video on the computer screen is a lot easier."

The videos, about 3 minutes long, are shot with a digital camera and edited by the clinic's staff. Besides being posted to YouTube.com, the clips are available on the practice's Web site.

Richard Lewis, Welsh secretary of the British Medical Association, said the organization supports "this kind of innovative use of technology. It helps develop patient understanding."