Kate Garraway has shared how she suffered an incident with her husband Derek Draper in a taxi when she had to rush him to the hospital. The presenter made the comments during her latest appearance on Good Morning Britain on Friday (January 13).
She and co-host Ben Shephard were discussing whether taxis should be sent out for 999 calls to help with the pressure being put on the NHS ambulance services, particularly following the latest wave of strike action.
It led to Kate sharing her own story as she took the option of a taxi when needed to take her husband, Derek, to the hospital. The former labour lobbyist has faced a series of setbacks in his recovery after suffering serious complications as a result of contracting Covid in March 2020.
Speaking on GMB, the 55-year-old revealed how Derek slipped out of his wheelchair while trying to get into the taxi. She explained: “I’ve used a lot of cabs for Derek to go to and from appointments because the mobility services are very very delayed, ambulances are delayed.
"But if you try and book an official car you can sometimes waiting five hours to bring you home for hospital. He was in a lot of pain, it wasn’t sustainable so we took a cab home from the hospital. We went over a speed bump and he slipped out of his wheelchair."
While Ben remarked that the incident was something Kate "wouldn’t have envisioned" happening, she replied: "It’s hard. It’s hard to deal with. You want someone with you to manage that." But sharing praise for the taxi driver who helped Derek, Kate said: "I was really lucky the black cab driver that had a mobility access his father he’d cared for post-stroke so he was really good at handling someone with that condition.
"The two of us were hauling him back into the wheelchair, strapping him in and got him home. But I just thought many a taxi driver would say, ‘I can’t deal with it.’ I wasn’t even sure I could deal with."
Ben, 48, then asked Kate if she had wished she had waited for ambulance instead of relying on a taxi but she replied: "He was in such stress and pain, you’re having to make call as individual when you’re not qualified for it." Kate then clarified: "I should say Derek was fine, distressed but fine. I think we’re asking a lot of people who are not qualified."
During an appearance on ITV's Lorraine last month, Kate shared how Derek had finally returned home after his hospital stint and said: "You know, it is an onslaught — it is a long onslaught." She contnued to tell Lorraine Kelly about Derek's recovery. "I can see he has better days; he has worse days — he's thankfully at home now. It's been a long battle to get him back home again. I think it's very tough on him but it's very tough on the people around me."
Appearing alongside GMB co-star Ben Shephard, Kate added: "All jokes aside, Ben for all his unbelievable cheek, has been extraordinary because I can't help think all the people around me, people at GMB and radio as well, must be fed up to the back teeth. That is the problem I think if you are caring or have a long-term situation."
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