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Original poster

Derek Draper - an invasion of privacy?

192 replies

Montespan · 23/03/2021 18:09

I’ve been a bit horrified by the trailer I’ve seen for Kate Garraway’s documentary about her husband’s struggle with coronavirus. It included a shot of him in hospital.

I see Kate Garraway has said that given his interest in mental health, her husband would want his journey to be shared. But, is it ethical or even legal to rely on assumed consent to having such very personal information - and even footage -shared?

I do appreciate his wife means well, and has been through a lot - but i really can’t see how Derek Draper had the capacity to give informed consent to this, and in the absence of consent I don’t see how itv can show this.

Disclosure- a big part of the reason I’m so horrified by this is that I myself have been near death in intensive care (some years ago). I would have been utterly aghast if footage of me distressed & in pain had been shared. Horrified. Appalled. Humiliated. The experience was such a deeply personal one, for me & my family. Not one for the public to gawp at.

It worries me that a tv company can have such a cavalier approach to consent and privacy in a medical setting. Does anyone share these views?

OP posts:
CovidCorvid · 23/03/2021 21:57

I'm watching it now and he's definitely responsive enough and following a conversation enough that it sounds like he'd be able to give consent.

dogsbeard · 23/03/2021 22:00

@GreyhoundG1rl

You really can't conceive how this experience is so isolating for the ordinary family ?

GreyhoundG1rl · 23/03/2021 22:17

[quote dogsbeard]@GreyhoundG1rl

You really can't conceive how this experience is so isolating for the ordinary family ?
[/quote]
Why would watching someone else's experience (which has been filmed solely because they're already well known in the media) make it less so?

Mumdiva99 · 23/03/2021 22:17

It's a pretty amazing documentary.

I imagine she started.not knowing what the outcome would be and has continued ied for every single person suffering any sort of long covid or for their families. She comes across wonderfully.

Could he give consent - I don't know. Buy, if he's unable I do believe she would be able to answer for him. The same as my husband could make that decision for me in a similar situation. (Of course there never will be a similar situation for me - because Elton wouldn't be phoning to see how I am!)

I wish the family and Derek lots of love. I hope he continues to improve.

Foolingaround · 23/03/2021 22:27

That was a powerful program to watch, I hope that Kate is getting lots of support, I can’t imagine how hard it must be to parent, work and support Derek on her own.

saraclara · 23/03/2021 23:14

I didn't intend watching it, and normally I'm VERY hot on privacy, but it started before I could summon up the energy to find the remote, and I actually thought it was excellent. And yes, he is definitely capable of giving consent now.

It was informative, touching, practical and really quite enlightening. And I thought she came over very well indeed. Warm but not over-sentimental. Showing emotion but in a calm and together way. I never for a moment felt we were being manipulated. It was real, practical, and her love for him was always apparent, but not milked to satisfy an audience.

saraclara · 23/03/2021 23:16

Personally I don’t like the idea at all. It is an invasion of privacy IMO if someone can’t speak for themselves.

He can. He's been able to for a while.

Losttheequipment · 23/03/2021 23:19

Yes, having watched it there’s not really doubt that he is able to consent. I didn’t intend to watch it, but I’m very glad I did. It was everything saraclara said.

Egghead68 · 23/03/2021 23:25

I think he will have given consent.

KG will need the money if she has to give up work to care for her husband. But I suspect she made the documentary to inform people, not for the money.

CovidCorvid · 23/03/2021 23:25

I feel so sorry for them. I know someone (young) who had a brain injury which affected them almost as if they’d had a massive stroke. I’ve lost touch with them now but last I heard they were still in a nursing home 24/7 2 years after the accident needing 24 hour care. They were “all there” mentally but struggled to communicate and no mobility, not even arms.

Derek doesn’t sound this bad but similar issues I guess, hence why he’s currently in a rehabilitation unit. Will be like stroke rehab, trying to help him gain as much function back as possible. Though there will come a point where it’s unlikely he will improve anymore. But if they’re thinking he will be there till Dec this year they must be thinking they can help him more.

ScienceSensibility · 23/03/2021 23:26

I agree.
if he is unable to give informed consent (and from her constant descriptions of his state, how could he?) then this is the most appalling breach of his privacy and dignity.

She may be his wife but that doesn’t mean she owns him. Are his parents alive? I wonder if they agreed? I certainly would not and would fight tooth and nail to prevent it.

Is it for money? She’s shared ‘her story’ so many bloody times now. This is Derek’s story and only part of it belongs to her. Is it for attention?

Appalling. I would be livid if my partner did this to me.

Losttheequipment · 23/03/2021 23:28

Did you watch it? @ScienceSensibility

ScienceSensibility · 23/03/2021 23:31

@GreyhoundG1rl

Kate feels a responsibility to open up to show people the effects of covid on her family to keep in their minds the seriousness of the pandemic. How do people write such utter bilge?
Quite agree.

The projection of saintliness onto Kate Garraway is quite ridiculous.

In respect of money, she is going to be on a six figure plus salary at ITV, was already the main breadwinner and I simply do not believe she needs money so badly that she would sell out her husband’s privacy for this.

Covidiots watching it won’t bother changing their behaviour, so what is the greater good of showing this man in pain and fear. Revolting.

saraclara · 23/03/2021 23:47

@ScienceSensibility

I agree. if he is unable to give informed consent (and from her constant descriptions of his state, how could he?) then this is the most appalling breach of his privacy and dignity.

She may be his wife but that doesn’t mean she owns him. Are his parents alive? I wonder if they agreed? I certainly would not and would fight tooth and nail to prevent it.

Is it for money? She’s shared ‘her story’ so many bloody times now. This is Derek’s story and only part of it belongs to her. Is it for attention?

Appalling. I would be livid if my partner did this to me.

You didn't watch it, did you? He was able to talk to her and share his feelings.
areyoumeop · 23/03/2021 23:50

if you are a self-employed person earning over 500k for many years surely you would have some financial security, but Kate having to be financially supported by friends within a matter of weeks of a drop in income shows how important it is to have a safety net.

saraclara · 23/03/2021 23:51

Again, if I was expressing an opinion about the concept and hadn't watched it, I'd be right in there with fury about his privacy not being respected.

But the reality was quite different. The way she talked about him and to him was incredibly respectful, and he was more able to communicate than I thought. So I'm more than confident that he was able to give his permission. And I think she did him proud.

I'd never have guessed that I'd feel that way because I'm sometimes over the top about privacy. But I thought it was excellent and I'd recommend that people watch it on catch up.

LIamaDelRey · 23/03/2021 23:52
  1. self-employed
  2. had to borrow money off friends when not working
  3. never appointed a power of attorney so cannot access his accounts or their joint savings account
  4. trolling by Covid deniers

My DP and myself in the above circumstances would be fine with any footage being shown - kids and bills override privacy issues for both of us.

GabsAlot · 23/03/2021 23:53

Always in two minds about these types of programs or overshares-but this has been a hell of a year and if hes given consent i dont see why not- he wants to make sure people dont end up like him or deniers saying noones been affected

Unsure33 · 23/03/2021 23:54

I watched it ,
And I agree what he has been through is like someone having a catastrophic car crash . So difficult. And the one thing that struck me is that all other families going through all this also because of restrictions have to do it in their own . Not having family support , not. Being able to hug the patient ,family member etc makes things very hard to cope with .

I thought she came across as just a mum trying her best in awful circumstances.

It was very touching.

Unsure33 · 23/03/2021 23:57

@ScienceSensibility

You obviously are judging without watching .

Strong words.

And quite uncalled for.

AlexaShutUp · 24/03/2021 00:10

Jeez, the poor woman has had the year from hell, and you're all queuing up to judge?

Would I personally want that level of media intrusion into my personal life? No, I wouldn't, but I understand that people feel differently about things. Maybe it has helped her in some way, or maybe she thought it might help other people.

I am sure that he will have given his consent, and that he will have been deemed to have the capacity to make that decision. I don't think they would air it otherwise. I also believe that KG probably knows DD better than the rest of us, and can't imagine that she would want to do this if it was something that he would be uncomfortable with.

I haven't actually watched the documentary but I wish them both well.

SignsofSpring · 24/03/2021 00:20

I haven't watched the documentary.

Initially I felt uncomfortable about the programme, as I assumed he was almost completely unconscious all the time, but that's not the case. I also think there's an argument that she knows him best.

I think often sharing people's very difficult stories is the only way to get any window on what it's like to live in profound pain, disability or compromised living. This is all hidden away in our society, we would never know of the Dereks unless someone's prepared to share their story.

SignsofSpring · 24/03/2021 00:22

I mean documentaries like Louis Theroux' often involve children, people with disabilities, people who are compromised by addiction or other mental health problems, he also did one on people in minimally conscious states (worse than Derek). No-one condemns him for making those. Otherwise we only have happy healthy reasonably young and totally competent at all times people on TV. I feel the true reality of caring for someone with brain damage/huge physical damage is something we should show, and discuss.

Haenow · 24/03/2021 00:32

@GreyhoundG1rl

Raising awareness of;

  • Long term disability after covid and what it may look like long after the virus is gone.
  • Long term unexpected disability and the impact it has on the partners and children.
  • Brain injury l, which is not well understood or acknowledged by many.
  • Adapting to life as a carer for a person with a disability - KG talked about installing a wet room, needing X amount of turning space for a wheelchair and adapting the house so he can sleep downstairs.
  • The impact of mental health and how it interlinks for a person who has been through a critical illness.
saraclara · 24/03/2021 00:49

This review in the guardian puts it across perfectly

www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/mar/23/kate-garraway-finding-derek-review-devotion-and-honesty-in-the-face-of-covid

It is hard to capture how magnificent – wholly unshowily so – she is says the reviewer. And I (someone who normally hates this sort of programme and is very very private) completely agree.

I barely know the presenter. I don't watch her stuff. So I had no preconceptions or biases. But yes, she was magnificent.