General News
3 October, 2025
‘Shocktober’ call for more local responders
Ambulance Victoria has encouraged Horsham and Murtoa residents to learn or refresh their cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills and sign up to be a GoodSAM responder.
Ambulance Victoria has encouraged Horsham and Murtoa residents to learn or refresh their cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills and sign up to be a GoodSAM responder.
A cardiac arrest occurs when a person’s heart suddenly stops pumping blood effectively around the body – and the sooner a medical intervention, the greater the chances of survival.
This October marks the sixth year of AV’s state-wide Shocktober campaign, which is dedicated to improving cardiac arrest survival rates.
AV Grampians regional director, Steve Doyle encouraged locals to learn CPR, how to use an automated external defibrillator (AED) and know where their closest defibrillator is located.
“Shocktober is about giving Victorians who have a cardiac arrest a better chance of returning to their loved ones,” he said.
“CPR and defibrillation are critical. Every day, around 21 Victorians suffer the medical emergency but only one in 10 survive. For every minute CPR is delayed, survival decreases by 10 per cent.
level, and often without symptoms.
“Our message is simple – you don’t need to be a paramedic to save a life, just remember to Call (Triple Zero 000), Push (Perform CPR) and Shock (use an AED).”
Mr Doyle also encouraged locals to sign up to be a GoodSAM responder.
GoodSAM is a global mobile app that connects patients in cardiac arrest with a nearby volunteer who is willing to start hands-only CPR while paramedics are on their way.
With more than 17,300 GoodSAM responders across Victoria, AV were keen for even more people to sign up.
Last year, AV paramedics and first responders were called to 7545 cardiac arrest patients – Victoria has the best cardiac survival rates in Australia and the third-best anywhere in the world.
AV will be running multiple Call, Push, Shock sessions in Murtoa and Horsham:
The first is this morning at the Murtoa Show from 10am, the others are next weekend (Saturday, October 11 and Sunday, October 12) at the Horsham Spring Garden Festival at the Botanic Gardens from 9am.
For information about Shocktober, the GoodSAM app and how to learn CPR and use an AED (defib), visit ambulance.vic.gov.au/shocktober