UK HEALTH SERVICE PULLS THROUGH BUSIEST NIGHT EVER

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's national health service (NHS) had its
busiest night on record in some regions as alcohol took its toll on
revelers marking the new millennium.

In London, where three million people packed onto the banks of the
Thames to see a spectacular firework display light up the sky, the
ambulance service took 2,300 emergency calls in the first six hours of
the new year, the Department of Health said.

Almost 1,500 emergency cases were seen in accident and emergency
departments in the northern and Yorkshire regions where a total of
4,000 people attended casualty, while Greater Manchester ambulances
had their busiest night ever with just under 1,200 calls.

Health Minister Alan Milburn praised NHS staff for the extra effort
they had put in over the holiday season.

``NHS staff have been brilliant,'' he said in a statement.

``Health service staff made sure that the NHS was there for people
when they needed it throughout the Christmas and millennium period.''

The department of health said there were no reports of Y2K millennium
bug problems affecting NHS equipment.