A mental health nurse will tend to the emotional casualties of Bradford's Millennium celebrations.

An experienced psychiatric nurse will be deployed in Bradford Royal Infirmary's Accident & Emergency unit every evening into the early hours, helping people who have harmed themselves or arrived with emotional difficulties.

A full assessment of the patient's mental state will be undertaken immediately and the nurse, liaising with the casualty doctors, will arrange admission to Lynfield Mount psychiatric hospital at Daisy Hill or some other help in the community if required.

Des Crowley, senior manager for acute services at Lynfield Mount, said: "Traditionally, we would not experience a massive problem around Christmas, usually because there's lots of family support around. It's a time when families will support their relatives with severe mental health problems.

"But with all the hype about the end of the century, it has negative connotations. It might affect some people badly.

"If you are lonely, lots of people will be out going to parties, and if you're on the outside looking in it can be that feeling that pushes people to harm themselves.

"Alcohol plays a large part in this because people act in ways that are out of character."

The initiative extends a scheme which has been running since April.

Mr Crowley said the nurses had been dealing with an average of 15 or 20 calls a month to the out-of-hours assessment service and were prepared for more this Millennium-time.

The scheme will run from 8.30pm until the early hours of the morning to January 3.

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