Derek Draper - an invasion of privacy?

[Montespan]

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?

Fair enough to film it and hold the footage for later use. But he'd surely need to be further recoveredl in order to give fully informed consent, i.e. be able to think through all the current and future implications of airing this footage.

I also object to this 'keep the wolf from the door' business. She already has a job that will be comparatively very well paid.

@cansu

She must have plenty of money so keeping the wolf from the door is hardly her experience! I am pretty sure she is living mortgage free and has plenty of savings!

How do you know this?

In another interview (guardian?) she stated some of the practical difficulties she has encountered ie. changing phone contracts taken out in his name. The phone company refused upgrades so she had to take out new ones. You cannot assume she would have ready access to funds, pension etc. Also she may be thinking of future provision for her dc education, 24 hour nursing care, equipment etc.

There must be some motivation behind this. She’s done a book, newspaper and magazine interviews and now a documentary. It feels a little seedy to me. If this were my DH I might speak out about how awful it has been, but I wouldn’t be writing books and doing documentaries whilst he was still in hospital. It must be money.

I’ve never been a huge fan of hers, she’s a terrible presenter and interviewer, but what she is going through is awful and I feel for her. But the motivation for all this has to be money to me, because it feels so exposing of her husband.

Because she is a very highly paid television presenter. Before his illness her husband also had a well paid job. It isn't a massive jump to think she is wealthy compared with many people in similar situations with a spouse or child with disability to care for. I have lots of sympathy for her but to suggest she needs the money is frankly ridiculous. Yes her lifestyle might change but she isn't going to be needing handouts.

What do other people do in they need nursing care? They ask social care for help.

@cansu

What do other people do in they need nursing care? They ask social care for help.

But he clearly won’t get any help from “social care”. Because he has family and money. He will have to pay.

@cansu

Because she is a very highly paid television presenter. Before his illness her husband also had a well paid job. It isn't a massive jump to think she is wealthy compared with many people in similar situations with a spouse or child with disability to care for. I have lots of sympathy for her but to suggest she needs the money is frankly ridiculous. Yes her lifestyle might change but she isn't going to be needing handouts.

I suspect she's freelance and her income took a massive dive when her husband became ill - plus that sort of job is inherently very uncertain anyway, and potentially in the future she's looking at paying out a fortune for his care when he's at home. Sure, she's well off compared to many, but I can see why she'd be worried about finances.

Slightly off topic but right from the start, I've been surprised at the amount of tv footage from hospitals. I know it is the main news story and they need to get across how ill people were and how serious things had got.
BUT when drs and nurses and HCP were in the middle of what was like a war zone and no visitors were allowed on wards I always wondered how helpful it was to have Fergus Walsh and co, with camera crew, wafting around every few days, filming and possibly getting in the way overworked medical staff. Saying how dangerous and contagious it was ....but then going in with reporters and camera crew.
And if you were a relative that saw a reporter in the same room as your loved one who you couldnt visit...?

I'm talking about from a privacy/consent perspective, infection control perspective and just from a practical POV when you're rushed off your feet, doing double shifts or looking after twice the patients you normally do, how helpful is it to have extra people in the way!

Fiz I did thibk the same as you initially but then realised that with all the conspiracy theories floating around, it is important to show realities of Covid.
As others have mentioned all relatives were asked if it was ok to film in these wards and if they disagreed, patients were not shown.

Care for a bedbound dependent individual is incredibly expensive, it's several thousand pounds a week. They will burn through their money very very quickly if he lives decades in a more dependent state.

That said, his medical needs may be so great the state will pay. It's only if he's deemed as needing care only that he would have to pay himself. They won't take her house though, as she has dependent children. All very grim, she must feel the burden being a sole earner and sole parent now in the family.

From what I have seen he is able to give consent. Consent isn't a quick chat and then no changing what you agreed to. It will have been an ongoing process, done at times to suit him.

...never appointed a power of attorney so cannot access his accounts or their joint savings account

If he's capable of giving consent, isn't he also capable of accessing his bank accounts?

"I haven't watched the documentary."

@SignsofSpring and yet you're all over every thread there is about this, speculating and making wild assumptions why?

@UserEleventyNine

...never appointed a power of attorney so cannot access his accounts or their joint savings account

If he's capable of giving consent, isn't he also capable of accessing his bank accounts?

I doubt he can manage any physical or sustained voice contact, let alone use an ipad himself.

Did people actually watch the documentary? Or are we all judgemental twats on the internet. I think the latter.

How can you be locked out of a joint bank account?

@HolmeH

Did people actually watch the documentary? Or are we all judgemental twats on the internet. I think the latter.

It's pretty easy to tell who didn't! I think every single person who watched it (even those, like me, who would normally bristle at the idea of the programme) thought it was excellent, sensitive, respectful and helpful.

Those that haven't are claiming stuff that didn't happen in it. Apparently the man who talked to his wife in several clips and showed every sign of understanding what was said to him, couldn't possibly speak and give his consent.

@GreyhoundG1rl

How can you be locked out of a joint bank account?

It might not be a joint account, just their joint savings. Or he might be the lead name and for some reason access is limited for the second name, unless the bank can speak to him and he can give certain security information.

@Tigerchips what a rude thing to say to me. I haven't watched the documentary as it's very close to home for me, so much so I know I would be very upset. Unfortunately, I have direct experience of caring for the love of my life in a brain-injured state, including bedbound, for many years, and so know a lot about capacity, what it's like to have your partner transformed into a different person, and how incredibly demanding it is on the carer.

My husband, younger than Derek, is dead now, but I thought my experiences might help shine a bit of light on some of the things we are discussing. Why would you suggest I won't have anything valuable to contribute to this thread?

I think you can set up a joint account so it requires two signatures. I didn't watch the documentary as I disapprove of the publicity given to this. Which has been quite widespread already.

@UserEleventyNine

...never appointed a power of attorney so cannot access his accounts or their joint savings account

If he's capable of giving consent, isn't he also capable of accessing his bank accounts?

I thought this.

I don't need DH permission to access our joint account.

Even if he's not capable or speaking on the phone to the bank, he can tell Kate his passwords or where they may be written down.

In fact, if this were my DH and he had his own separate bank account, all I'd need was his iPhone to do the face recognition thing and I'd have access to his banking app to access and transfer money.

I thought the same but they clearly adored each other and I decided she would know his wishes. Plus maybe she needs this to help her process things or feel she could help others by sharing their journey. My first thoight is I would not want to be filmed but if it helped a loved one with their pain I would agree to it.