Bradford hospitals reported one of their quietest New Year periods, despite fears of health chaos in the run-up to the Millennium.

Last week, the Telegraph & Argus revealed how all Bradford intensive care units were full and patients faced being raced to other departments around the country after health chiefs admitted flu cases had put a strain on Bradford Royal Infirmary's A&E unit.

And the day before New Year's Eve, emergency plans were put in place to move sick children to Airedale Hospital in Steeton after all 44 paediatric beds and cots in Bradford were taken up. Doctors were forced to visit the wards more often to discharge patients as soon as they were well enough after Dewsbury Hospital shut to emergency admissions for 24 hours.

But yesterday a spokesman for Bradford Hospitals NHS Trust said everything had been under control and confirmed that no patients were transferred over the Millennium holiday.

"It was full all of the time in the ICU unit and the paediatrics and elderly medicine wards were busy," she said.

"The Accident and Emergency department was quiet. It was more like a typical Saturday night than a New Year's Eve. It got busier after 3am on New Year's Day but it was still manageable for the staff. The cases were very predictable with most drink-related." She added that fears about the Millennium Bug were also unfounded with the only equipment breaking down being mobile phones between 11.30pm and 2.30am. Hospital radios and switchboard phones were used in their place.

Contingency plans to cope with patients suffering mentally-related problems on New Year's Eve also went unused. In what was expected to be the busiest night of the year, community psychiatric nurses were placed in A&E departments and beds were freed for emergency cases.

But Director of the Mental Health Service, Dr Simon Bough, who was on duty on New Year's Eve, said that it had seemed quieter than a normal Saturday night.

"It's a very difficult time for people so we strengthened our service," he said. "We had done a great deal of preparation but it was fairly quiet. We had no calls on Friday after 6pm."

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