Moment GMB’s Kate Garraway tears into Health Secretary Steve Barclay in furious clash over social care after her experiences with husband Derek Draper’s health battle
- The ITV host demanded a meeting with a minister to discuss the health system
Good Morning Britain‘s Kate Garraway tore into Health Secretary Steve Barclay today in a furious clash over social care.
The presenter, whose husband Derek Draper has had 24/7 treatment at home in his battles with Covid and sepsis in recent years, demanded a meeting with the minister to discuss problems within the health system.
Rishi Sunak‘s Government has come under fire for failing to commit to a previous pledge to deliver social care changes in 2025, while concerns continue to linger over recruitment.
One of the party’s flagship policies was a social care cap, designed to limit the amount anyone will have to pay for care in later life to £86,000, but the Prime Minister has not said how long the promised reform has been postponed for.
Meanwhile, data today reveals how the NHS waiting list in England has hit a new record high, with 7.7 million people – around one in seven – waiting for treatment.
Miss Garraway tried to address the crisis head-on this morning as she explained how she and millions of others up and down the country feel like they are ‘holding the life of their loved one’ in one hand and ‘just punching and punching away at a system’ in the other.
The broadcaster admitted she was holding back tears as she grilled Mr Barclay, who said he was unaware of her attempts to set up a sit-down with him and would be happy to do so.
She said: ‘I don’t want to ambush you on air, but I have been trying to contact you and I have been trying to contact [social care minister] Helen Whately as well and I haven’t been able to.
Good Morning Britain ‘s Kate Garraway tore into Health Secretary Steve Barclay today in a furious clash over social care
The presenter, whose husband Derek Draper has fought for his life during battles with Covid and sepsis in recent years, demanded a meeting with the minister to discuss problems within the health system
Miss Garraway admitted she was holding back tears as she grilled Mr Barclay on the ITV show
‘I have been able to contact your equivalents on the shadow side and I have met with them and talked to them.
‘I’d like to come and talk to you – not about Derek, by the way, this is not trying to get something for him.
‘This is about representing millions of people across the country who, like me every day, in one hand feel like they are holding the life of their loved one and in the other hand – I don’t want to cry – are just punching and punching away at a system.’
She added: ‘It isn’t about money. I’ve got five points, if you or Helen would return some of my attempts to make contact with you, to talk to you about it, because it’s not just about social care but health care and the way it’s inter-relating. It would be wonderful if you could.’
Mr Draper, 56, fell seriously ill with coronavirus at the start of the pandemic in March 2020, and was left with lasting damage to his organs.
Miss Garraway has previously opened up about the realities of life caring for her husband on a daily basis, describing his care as ‘a privilege’.
She told The Sunday Times that she only sleeps for around four hours most nights, and has not taken a day off caring for Mr Draper since he fell ill.
Responding to her on the show, Mr Barclay said: ‘Well, first Kate, it’s the first time I’ve heard of you trying to contact me so that message hadn’t got through to me. I can confirm I would be very happy to meet. We can pick that up after this interview.
‘Of course, we’d be keen to work with you and, more widely, look at ways we can give families much more of a voice within the NHS. I want to give the patient a voice and it would be important for us to meet.’
Miss Garraway, whose book The Strength of Love came out today, had revealed earlier on the show that her husband’s health had again taken a turn.
Miss Garraway said many people were ‘trapped in the web’ of the health system as she revealed her husband, right, was battling an infection
Former political adviser Mr Draper, pictured with Miss Garraway and her parents in June, fell seriously ill with coronavirus at the start of the pandemic in March 2020
The couple in December 2019, three months before Mr Draper contracted Covid
She said on the show this morning: ‘He’s had a nasty infection this week that set him back a bit but we’re on the right side of it, so that’s good.
‘There are so many people in the health system trapped in the web of it. People are not being taken care of in a system that’s in trouble.’
Adding to her comments on This Morning, she broke down in tears as she told Holly Willoughby and Josie Gibson: ‘You feel like you are holding a life in your hands and I’m not sure I’m good enough for that any more.’
Fans praised the star, writing on X: ‘You are an inspiration and you have brought me to tears today.
‘You, Derek and your children have shown extreme strength and courage. You all deserve your happy ending. Thank you so much.’
Miss Garraway has made two documentaries detailing Mr Draper’s battle with the long-term effects of Covid-19. Both won National Television Awards in the authored documentary category.
She was recognised with an MBE in the 2022 New Year Honours for her services to broadcasting, journalism and charity.
Miss Garraway said: ‘I worry that I’m failing on every front, at everything. But I’ve got to keep going and fight on for Derek.’
She also revealed that, on the day of a Good Morning Britain episode last November, she had to go to hospital with chest pain.
The mother of two said: ‘When I went back, they [the doctors] said, “Yeah, we don’t think you’re strong enough to do stressor tests”. Funnily enough… we’ve had enough stressor tests.’
She also said Mr Draper has developed a ‘weird choking’ and his inability to breathe out carbon dioxide or breathe in oxygen ‘is slightly poisoning his body all the time’.
The presenter said her husband becomes ‘very emotional about the strain this has put on me’ but having an illness can ‘strip you of your empathy’.
Kate Garraway broke down in tears while discussing her stricken husband Derek Draper’s Covid battle on Thursday’s This Morning
Kate admitted she ‘doesn’t feel good enough’ to continue caring for her husband
She needed medical assistance of her own after being woken by the 2am alarm she sets each night for Good Morning Britain – and discovering she couldn’t move to turn it off.
In her new book, the presenter describes how she then felt a ‘searing pain’ in her chest and was immediately taken to the nearest A&E for tests.
Addressing her health scare, Miss Garraway said: ‘There was a searing pain in my chest – as though someone had punched their fist through my breastbone, snatched hold of my heart and squeezed.
‘The pain was sharp and excruciating. Then I realised that it wasn’t a sudden onset of pain. It had been there all the time. My temporary paralysis had distracted me.
‘Then came the thought, “Oh God, was I having a heart attack?”. But why was my body reacting like this?
‘Could I be so desperate to help Derek that I’d started having sympathy pains?’
She then threw up on the way to work and was taken to A&E when she arrived at the studios.
After conducting tests, a cardiologist ruled out a heart attack as a possible cause before doctors let her go home.
She also told how she burst into tears when the doctor recognised her and said she was an inspiration, before telling him: ‘I’m not doing any good for anybody.’
Her scare was a one-off issue, but doctors are now keeping an eye on it as it might have been stress-related angina.
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