CONSULTANTS at an Oxford hospital are set share their medical expertise via the YouTube website.

Medical experts at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre (NOC) in Headington, will upload a series of videos called Joint Ventures in a bid to improve public knowledge of medical conditions.

Professors and consultants at the specialist centre, which works in partnership with Oxford University, will be seen on youtube.com discussing subjects including shoulder surgery, arthritis in young people, osteoporosis and bone health.

They will also talk about developments in joint replacement in recordings made at the hospital’s lecture theatre.

The videos will be edited by an in-house team and quickly posted to the website.

Prof Jeremy Fairbank, consultant spinal and orthopaedic surgeon from the NOC, and Dr Jill Urban from the university’s department of physiology conducted the first filmed lecture.

About 150 people attended the lecture, which was filmed on Tuesday evening and addressed back pain and disc problems.

An hour of raw footage will now be edited into a clip lasting no more then a few minutes. It will be available to view on youtube by June 5.

Prof Fairbank said he hoped the videos would enable a wider audience to understand the important research carried out at the hospital.

He added: “We hope the public will find these sessions interesting and informative and provide the opportunity to find out more about progress in treating these conditions.”

Dr Tony Berendt, chairman of the NOC’s research and development committee, said: “Many advances in medical care and treatment would not be possible without the support of patients taking part in clinical trials.

“YouTube offers us the opportunity to reach an even wider audience.”

awilliams@oxfordmail.co.uk