The RACGP is considering whether onsite defibrillators should be a mandatory requirement under its practice standards after research showed many patients with cardiac arrests in GP clinics were waiting for defibrillation by paramedics.

Published on Monday, the review of 126 patients with initial shockable rhythms at GP practices found 47 received defibrillation by practice staff using an onsite automated external defibrillator (AED).

Some 57% of those patients survived, more than double the rate of those who waited to receive their first shock from arriving paramedics.

The figures were based on Victorian ambulance records between 2000 and 2020.