Harry's chance to say thanks to his heroes

With more cardiac arrests in Victoria than ever before, Ambulance Victoria (AV) is urging Gippsland 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.

This October marks the sixth year of the state-wide Shocktober campaign, which is dedicated to improving cardiac arrest survival rates.

Cape Woolamai local Matt Ware attended an AV Call, Push, Shock session last Shocktober never expecting he would soon need to use the skills he had learned.

In early May 2025, during a tenpin bowling game, Matt’s training was put to the ultimate test when his fellow bowler, Harry, suddenly went into cardiac arrest.

In those critical first few minutes, Matt and three GoodSAM responders rushed to Harry’s aid and performed CPR until paramedics arrived.

Advanced Life Support (ALS), Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance (MICA) and specialist air ambulance paramedics stabilised Harry at the scene, and he was flown to the Victorian Heart Hospital where he made a full recovery.

Matt said he was thankful he completed the training when he did, and he was delighted to see Harry bowling again just a few months later.

“If I hadn’t done the Call, Push, Shock course with AV, I wouldn’t have felt so comfortable doing CPR.

“Everyone should learn it,” he said.

Ambulance Victoria Gippsland Regional Director and MICA paramedic Ross Salathiel 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 more Victorians who have a cardiac arrest a better chance of returning to their loved ones,” he said.

“CPR and defibrillation are critical. For every minute CPR is delayed, survival decreases by 10 per cent.

“Cardiac arrest can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere, at any age, health or fitness 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 Salathiel also encouraged the community to sign up to be a GoodSAM Responder.

GoodSAM is a 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. There are currently about 17,300 GoodSAM Responders across the state, but we need more.

Last year, Ambulance Victoria paramedics and first responders were called to 7,545 cardiac arrest patients. Victoria has the best cardiac survival rates in Australia and is the third best in the world. Every day, around 21 Victorians suffer the medical emergency but only one in 10 survive.