Maia Pace (@barbie_advocates) delivers a matter-of-fact monologue on the barriers people with chronic illnesses face when accessing care, all while flushing their (bejewelled) nose tube.

Under the handle @barbie_advocates, disability rights activist and artist Maia Pace turned to TikTok to speak directly to vulnerable people affected by limited access to healthcare.

Here, she runs down the fundamental frustrations of living with a chronic illness and having to be an expert in one’s own healthcare, while simultaneously having to defer to doctors, officials and systems that often have no experience with the patient or their history.

Utilising TikTok aesthetics (direct address to camera, rapid jump cuts, and big makeup) and lived experience, she blends unvarnished truths with a statement nose tube, delivering information that is traditionally hard to access in an accessible way

Online platforms have created an unprecedented space for under- or misrepresented groups to build communities, share information and support, and advocate for themselves. Through online video, an activist can speak to people directly, immediately, from their own bedroom – all while holding their camera, editing suite and distribution method in one hand.

A patient describes her experience of receiving medical treatment under the NHS.