Our Region, Our People

Award-winning trainer Margaret Haynes has been a passionate cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) instructor for almost 30 years. 

“I have a passion for teaching and seeing someone ‘get it’ is rewarding,” Ms Haynes said. 

Ms Haynes recently conducted CPR training sessions for health professionals working in general practices and pharmacies in the Mackay region, as part of the North Queensland-wide Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Program funded by Northern Queensland Primary Health Network (NQPHN). 

“It’s important for clinical and non-clinical staff in general practice and pharmacy to update their CPR knowledge and skills as part of their professional duty of care to help ensure patients receive care in response to a deteriorating condition,” she said. 

“It also shows the credibility of the healthcare provider. 

“The training in Mackay was well received at the sessions and participants as a group contributed to a relaxed environment to learn and demonstrate skills.” 

More than 180 health professionals attended eight CPR courses run across Cairns, Townsville, Ayr, Atherton, and Mackay after NQPHN received 249 expressions of interest (EOI) for the fully funded training. 

The Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) course covered the knowledge and skills required to provide CPR, manage and assess an emergency situation, use an automatic external defibrillator (AED), understand the Danger, Response, Send, Airway, Breathing, CPR, and Defibrillation (DRSABCD) steps, and a first aider’s legal responsibility. 

One Mackay participant said it was very informative and a great group size. 

“I had fun while learning and the presenter answered questions with confidence,” they said. 

Of the 182 participants across northern Queensland, an Ayr participant said it was an excellent program and “great to have it delivered in Ayr.” 

A Cairns participant echoed that sentiment saying: “Professional, informative, relevant, educator was passionate and enthusiastic”. 

While a Townsville participant said: “The CPR education session was very well organised and run. Very informative and interactive. Great overview of the subject with real-life examples made it very interesting.” 

Ms Haynes received a Vocational Education Trainer Award in 2021 and has conducted CPR training in a variety of settings including acute care, TAFE, private registered training organisations (RTOs), community healthcare providers, and retail organisations. 

She encourages practices that have an automated external defibrillator to register their defibrillator at Heart of the Nation to allow first responders to access the life-saving devices. 

The most recent CPR courses funded by NQPHN were delivered by Australia Wide First Aid in Cairns, Atherton, Townsville, and Mackay, with The Job Shop delivering the course in Ayr. Participants are trained and assessed in line with Australian Resuscitation Council (ARC) guidelines. 



NQPHN funds access to a range of CPD courses for health professionals in North Queensland.