Schoolteacher leaves classroom behind to help elderly

A former schoolteacher who ‘struggled to fit in’, found his purpose when a move to the care sector enabled him to make a difference to the lives of older people.

Rishard Amod, owner of live-in care provider , taught in classrooms across South Africa, New Zealand and England for 26 years before delving into a career in care.

Inspired by his partner who worked primarily in domiciliary care and in residential homes, Mr Amod was enlightened by Promedica24 and the affordable service that live-in care offered. He said: “I’ve gained a lot of experience over the years teaching young people and realised that I wanted to help those on the other end of the spectrum to remain independent and live a happy and healthy life.

“We live in a society today where our busy lives don’t allow us to make time for the elderly. When I came across Promedica24 I knew that I’d found my purpose and that being part of this organisation would allow me to provide a solution.”

’It was a struggle…and not what I signed up for’

Mr Amod knows more than most just how much is expected of those in the teaching profession.

“It became a nightmare,” he said. “You had to teach in a particular way - very structured and ordered lessons, almost military style. If you didn’t follow their structure then you were seen as a bad teacher.”

He also revealed how he became extremely frustrated and stressed as the focus moved away from the children.

“I was there for the children and to help them develop, but it was all such a farce and not what I signed up for,” he added. “So, I decided to serve others by helping older people.”

Seeing them relaxed in their own home is extremely rewarding

Now, Mr Amod is used to helping older people remain in their own homes for longer whilst maintaining their independence and rights over their own property.

He said: “Whilst the education process is necessary, live-in care is an option. So the joy of walking older, vulnerable people out of a hospital where they’ve been trapped for months and finally seeing them relaxed in their own home is extremely rewarding.”

Mr Amod’s confidence in live-in care is supported by Age UK’s analysis showing that there are now over one million people aged 65 and over that do not receive the help they need with essential daily living activities.

For the last ten years, Promedica24 has been one of Europe’s largest providers of live-in care and support services across the UK, Germany, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia.

Promedica24 carers live in the home with their clients as companions, providing assistance with everyday tasks and personal care. The live-in care service offers a variety of support packages, including advanced care needs such as dementia, disability and stroke.

“In education you spend your life making the lives of young people better, preparing them for the world ahead, but in the care sector you’re now at the other end of the spectrum, making the lives of older people better, keeping them comfortable in their own homes and saving them money,” he revealed.

homecare.co.uk jobs

Academics have predicted that by 2025, an extra 4.4m people in Britain will require care at home. In a bid to tackle this extra demand, homecare.co.uk, the leading home care review site, has launched a CV Search tool to help providers easily search for and recruit staff.

With over 7,500 CV’s stored on the site, employers can put in their key criteria and search for people’s desired job roles, salary range, languages spoken, location and the type of contract they are looking for.

For more information on CV Search go to homecare.co.uk/cv