All leave is hereby cancelled, Territorial Army and Red Cross members are urged to contact their organisations, triage centres are to be set up at known trouble spots, and routine work will be wound down to cope with an anticipated three or fourfold increase in casualties. As the millennium approaches, preparations for it are coming to resemble less a celebration than the horrifyingly inevitable slide into war with a powerful adversary (See News, page 4-5).

Last week's NHS Executive circular on the human resource implications of all this strikes just about the right note - barely suppressed panic verging on mild hysteria. Some people may be looking forward to the millennium. But by the time 31 December 1999 arrives, that group is unlikely to include many working in the NHS. In the meantime, expect the circular or its consequences to crop up some time soon on Casualty as it becomes clear that skinflint managers are plotting to stop hardworking doctors and nurses enjoying themselves.