Kate Garraway has praised nurses for saving her husband Derek Draper's life and "keeping him alive".
Kate Garraway
The 'Good Morning Britain' presenter has paid tribute to the medical staff who cared for her partner during his health battle after he was struck down with COVID-19 last year, as she opened up about the NHS pay row.
During Thursday's (22.07.21) episode of ITV's 'GMB', she said: "Nobody could more desperate for nurses to be rewarded than me.
"Nurses, I think, saved Derek’s life and are still very involved in keeping him alive because it was the nurses' care as well as the brilliant doctors, but that care during those critical days and months made all the difference."
On Wednesday (21.07.21), the government confirmed NHS doctors and nurses will be given a three per cent pay rise, after a previously proposed one per cent hike was hit with criticism.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "Our NHS staff have been heroic throughout the pandemic, providing care and saving lives.
"To recognise the extraordinary contribution they have made they are receiving a three per cent pay rise this year."
But some medical unions have called for a 12 per cent increase.
Kate added: "The problem is that originally it was two per cent, then it was moved to one per cent, then it moved to an independent review that’s decided three per cent, and we’re in two trillion pounds worth of debt, there are people in the private sector who are working incredibly hard, maybe in less emotive roles, but incredibly hard, who are losing their jobs."
And she suggested there will need to be "some form of compromise" between both parties to make it work.
She said: "The economy is under such extraordinary strain.
"There’s other areas of the public sector like police, like teachers, who’ve also been feeling a huge amount of pressure, who’ve got no pay rise, so 12 per cent I think you won’t get, so there has to be some form of compromise."
Derek - who was in hospital from March 2020 to April 2021 - continues to require special round-the-clock care at home as he struggles to recover from the after-effects of COVID-19, which left him with kidney failure, damage to his liver and pancreas, and heart failure.
Kate recently admitted there are "huge challenges ahead".
She said: "He’s alright, he’s alright. He’s very up and down, we’re certainly not a long way out of the woods.
"[He came home] not because he was better, no. But being home has meant we’ve seen some things improved.
"Definitely having the family around, having the children around has provided stimulation and I think the problem is you latch on to the positives, which is good because you have to, but there’s absolutely no doubt that there’s huge challenges ahead."
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