Susanna Reid was left holding back tears as a Good Morning Britain viewer opened up on the heartbreaking wait for an ambulance after her son took an overdose.
Good Morning Britain gave viewers an insight into the day in the life of an ambulance crew on Tuesday.
Hosts Susanna and Ed Balls called on viewers to share their encounters with ambulance crews as it was revealed the number of paramedics verbally or physically assaulted has nearly doubled since 2015.
After sharing stories of those who were forced to wait hours for an ambulance to arrive, Ed shared a heart-warming message from one viewer.
The former politician said: "Some positive stories, my son took an overdose, ambulance arrived in six minutes, two ambulances and eight paramedics. I was grateful and lucky my son was okay."
"This is no criticism, by the way, of the paramedics and ambulance crews," Susanna replied. They are not sitting around having cups of tea and slices of cake wondering what to do with their day, they are desperately trying to get out to everybody."
Ed continued: "If you look at these stories and you think of Jackie and her son, [ambulances] arriving in six minutes, if they had been waiting for hours and hours then that would have been a sad story."
He explained the majority of responses from viewers regarded concerns about increasing ambulance waiting times before urging those watching to keep getting in touch with more stories.
A noticeably affected Susanna injected to apologise as she said: "Sorry, as soon as you said, 'My son took an overdose' that's devastating, I'm so glad it worked out."
Later, Susanna and Ed spoke to paramedic and clinical team educator Kimberly about the demands she and other ambulance crew are faced with.
She told the hosts how the ambulance service is "so stretched" and they there is "always an increase in demand".
She adds how receiving abuse on a daily basis "is the norm now".
Good Morning Britain airs on ITV on weekdays at 6am.
*If you're struggling and need to talk, the Samaritans operate a free helpline open 24/7 on 116 123. Alternatively, you can email jo@samaritans.org or visit their site to find your local branch
