February 19, 2001 14:09: JOAN Guttridge is one of the first patients to be treated at the new critical care unit at Wycombe Hospital.

The hospital recently celebrated the opening of the £1 million unit which houses latest state-of-the-art technology and boasts a new follow-up clinic service.

The follow-up clinic service is available to patients who have spent at least three days in intensive care at the hospital and will monitor their progress after they are discharged.

Unit Director Dr Tim Dexter said: "The aim is to improve the quality of service we provide by identifying ongoing problems and listening to the experiences of patients and their relatives.

"Other centres which have already introduced this service have found it to be an invaluable way of identifying what will help patients most as they continue their recovery."

Doctors are hoping the clinic will enable them to assess patients easily following their stay at the hospital.

The first five patients attended the first follow-up clinic in January and the second session took place yesterday.

An NHS spokesman said that the follow-up clinics are part of the NHS' commitment to an increased focus on personal care for patients.