A horrific motor vehicle accident left David Platten unable to return to his long-term role as an interstate semi-trailer driver, but award-winning aged care organisation, ECH Inc, has stepped in to offer David a chance at a new life.

“A great job, with the freedom and best scenery this country has to offer,” is how former truck driver David Platten described his work driving trucks across Australia for some 30 years.

But one day, after a largely blemish-free driving career, David’s luck ran out and he rolled his rig after the truck’s computer system failed.

“I didn’t think I was going to walk away from it. When the rescue team arrived they were amazed to find me alive,” David said.

He suffered a broken arm at the elbow, cuts from road graze and some serious bruising – injuries that ultimately resulted in eight operations including a shoulder reconstruction. The accident meant that a return to truck driving as a career was out of the question.

“I was so sick of sitting around doing very little, with my arm in a sling and feeling useless. My wife saw an ad for an aged care course – I rang the Australian Workplace Training Centre and got an interview,” said David.

The course – which includes 100 hours of industry work experience – gave David new skills and a new-found confidence that was the beginning of a whole new career for him. At 56 years of age he had to “learn to adapt from being a truckie to being a personal carer.”

After completing the course, David struggled to find an aged care organisation willing to take him on as a volunteer. “I approached ECH because my aunty is a resident there, and they have been absolutely wonderful. They said if I was willing to give it a go, so were they. Coming to work for ECH has been the best thing – for the first time in my life, apart from truck driving, I’m thoroughly enjoying my work,” said David.

Now employed as a personal carer by progressive aged care innovators, ECH Inc, David is grateful to the company for giving him a chance.

“As a self-insurer, ECH did not have to offer me a job – they did and will support me in further studies to become an enrolled nurse. I am also about to be promoted up a level, so it’s all good.

“It feels great to be part of a working team again and to regain some independence and some dignity – I almost feel back to my old self except for my right arm, but I’ve learnt to live with that and make allowances. I still have one good arm and because of the ‘no lift’ policy, I can do all the work.
“I love the connection with people. A lot of the residents don’t have much family. I hear some wonderful stories and if feels good to be able to make a difference in people’s lives.”

David was also a finalist in the WorkCover SA Recovery & Return to Work Awards and an invited speaker at the Return to Work Symposium, where he commented on the importance of injured workers having access to inspirational stories of recovery, and to people willing to talk about their journey to returning to work.

“We need people who’ve gone through it to help us,” he said. “Injured workers have a lot to offer employers – as trainers, managers or organisers, even if they can’t do the work they did before their injury. All it takes to make a big difference is someone to offer a helping hand.

“Returning to work was the best thing to happen, as it helped me get back to life,” David said.