Kate Garraway has shared the difficulties of bringing husband Derek Draper home from hospital in a taxi (Picture: ITV)
Kate Garraway has recalled a difficult trip trying to take husband Derek Draper home from hospital amid huge wait times for ambulances.
The Good Morning Britain host, 55, has been caring for husband Derek for over two years as he continues to battle various health issues triggered by contracting Covid-19.
Former political lobbyist Derek was struck down by the virus 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.
Now Kate has recalled a harrowing experience trying to get Derek home from hospital, as patients face wait times of several hours before an ambulance becoming available.
Speaking on Friday’s Good Morning Britain after a discussion on ambulance wait times, Kate recalled taking Derek home in a black cab after being told it would be up to five hours before they could get an official medic car home,
She said the delays are putting a lot of ‘pressure’ on individuals who aren’t qualified, admitting: ‘I’ve used a lot of cabs for Derek for hospital appointments because mobility service, ambulances are very delayed.
Kate had to bring Derek home alone in a taxi as they faced hours-long waits for an ambulance and he was ‘distressed and in pain’ (Picture: ITV)
The broadcaster opened up on the difficult moment on Good Mornng Britain (Picture: ITV)
‘If you try to book an official car you can sometimes be waiting five hours to bring you home from hospital.’
‘He was in a lot of pain,’ she recalled. ‘It wasn’t sustainable. So we took a cab home from the hospital.
‘We went over a speed bump and he slipped out of the wheelchair. I was really lucky because the black cab driver who had the mobility access, he had cared for his father post a stroke, so he was really good at handling someone with that condition.
‘So the two of us were hailing him back into the wheelchair, strapping him in and getting him home.
‘But there are many taxi drivers who would have gone “I can’t deal with this.” I’m not even sure I was meant to be dealing with it.’
Derek now lives at home with Kate and their two children after spending months in hospital (Picture: ITV)
Kate admitted to co-host Ben that she still doesn’t know what the right thing to do would have been (Picture: ITV)
When asked by co-host Ben Shephard if she believes she should have waited for the ambulance to bring Derek home, Kate admits she still doesn’t know, as ‘he was in such distress and pain.’
‘You’re having to all the time… make calls, which really you know you’re not qualified for.’
During another recent episode of GMB, Kate revealed how, almost three years after Derek first contracted the disease, he has finally been offered an appointment with an expert who was working on the impacts of long-lasting Covid damage.
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‘Finally got into the long Covid clinic after a year-and-a-half to an amazing group of people that are working on the impact of Covid damage, and they said, “We’re going to get you into this person, that person, we’re going to take action”.
‘The appointments have now come through for 2023 and 2024, so you’re talking about four years from the impact.’
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Kate feels lucky the taxi driver was willing to help.
