Doctor turns to YouTube to tackle misinformation

Dr Derek Adu-Sarkodie's YouTube channel offers short videos to help patients

A family doctor has turned to YouTube to post videos on medical advice in the hope of tackling the spread of online misinformation about health.

Dr Derek Adu-Sarkodie, lead GP at a surgery in Wigan, has said the content means he can get proper information to patients wherever they are rather than them turning other sources, which may not be accurate.

His free YouTube channel offers short videos to help patients better understand their illnesses.

Dr Adu-Sarkodie said he wanted to address conditions like liver disease and bowel cancer after some patients declined treatment because of a social media post they had seen.

Dr Derek Adu-Sarkodie began recording the videos at his home

Dr Derek, as he calls himself, said he understands how people can be misled.

"That content can be so engaging, and if someone with 200,000 subscribers is telling you information then you think that it must be credible,” he said.

A video he uploaded seven months ago explaining five warning signs of bowel cancer has been watched by 242,000 people.

He said: “The amount of people that watched that video is more than I could see if I worked every day as a GP for the next 15 or 20 years.

"Because of how busy things are for health professionals there is a focus on clinics, but people are spending more time on these platforms.”

Currently, anyone diagnosed with a vitamin D deficiency is sent a link to one of his videos, helping to ease the pressure on his surgery in Atherton

Correct facts

Reaching one family member this way can also help different generations, the doctor said.

“I sent a mum a video with some developmental milestones for her child – she watched it and when I saw her again she said my mum’s watched your video on breast cancer, and my gran watched your video on bowel cancer,” he added.

Last year a report by the independent fact checking charity Full Fact found 74% of people were worried about the spread of misleading or false information.

Dr Adu-Sarkodie said he would like to see other medics copying his example.

“This is the world we live in now," he said.

"It’s not the same as a few years ago where you could give a patient a leaflet.

"It needs to be deeper than that because there’s more false information out there than there are people who are qualified, and who are trying to put the correct facts out."

Dr Tim Dalton, associate medical director at the NHS Greater Manchester integrated care board, said: “We welcome Dr Adu-Sarkodie’s effort to share important health messages with the public through his YouTube channel.

"As a busy GP, his short, informative videos tackle important health issues in a way that’s easy for people to understand.”