Derek Draper contracted coronavirus at the height of the pandemic (Picture: ITV)
Kate Garraway has opened up about the ‘tough’ mounting costs of caring for her husband Derek Draper.
The former political advisor, 55, fell seriously ill with Covid-19 in March 2020 and was placed in a coma to help his body recover from the symptoms.
He was discharged from hospital the following year but suffered severe damage to his body, including his heart and lungs.
The Good Morning Britain presenter, 55, has regularly shared updates about Derek’s health as she continues to care for him while he battles various long-term effects.
Kate revealed in 2021 she had converted their London home, where they live with their children Darcey, 16, and Billy, 13, to suit Derek’s needs, including installing a hospital bed in their lounge.
The broadcaster has now detailed the financial impact of Derek’s care, describing it as ‘tough’ and ‘through the roof.’
Derek is battling the long term effects of Covid-19 (Picture: ITV)
Kate and Derek before he fell ill with coronavirus (Picture: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
She told The Sun: ‘You have to make changes to your home and it affects your ability to work.
‘I had to take long periods off when Derek was first sick, and of course it affects the overall income for the family as he can no longer work.’
Kate also said that there was potentially an assumption the pair had recieved ‘special treatment’ due to her career but added they hadn’t bypassed any waiting lists.
Kate has regularly shared updates about Derek’s health (Picture: ITV)
Kate said the pair has had no ‘special treatment’ from the NHS (Picture: ITV/Shutterstock)
‘We haven’t jumped any queues, which is just as it should be,’ she continued.
It comes after Kate confronted Matt Hancock on Good Morning Britain about his handling of the pandemic and how she felt about his appearance on I’m A Celebrity.
She said: ‘When you talk about the moment that you fell in love, and was seen – was caught – falling in love, and whether it was guidelines or legal, and you say that’s irrelevant, because you morally felt that you did wrong…
‘I suppose the problem is that because you were health secretary and because at that time I couldn’t visit Derek in hospital, he couldn’t see his kids, thousands of others couldn’t go and see the people they loved for various reasons because they were following the guidelines.’
Kate continued: ‘You made the decision to go in at a time before you’d answered to an inquiry, at a time when people still feel very raw. I’m not sure people yet feel comfortable about why you did it.’
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Hancock replied: ‘I get all that, I really do, and I really feel it.
‘The reason it’s important, that I wrote the book in particular, with the inquiry coming out later, is I have to be completely open about what I did, why I took the decisions I did, so we can learn as much as possible. I feel really strongly about that.’
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Derek is battling the long-term effects of Covid-19