WYE Valley NHS Trust has secured an agreement with in house unions to continue critical services over four hours of strike action on Monday (Oct 13).

But some staff will "work to rule" beyond the  national strike day  which relates to government pay proposals.

The trust and its unions have reached a consensus over the provision of critical services over the 7am-11am strike.

Talks are now underway to establish the extent to which the trust will be limited over that time span and what contingency plans will have to put in place.

The trust is already contacting patients likely to be affected by the strike and will use its website - www.wyevalley.nhs.uk - to update on expected disruption.

Assessment is also being made of what a work to rule in the wake of the strike will mean.

The Trust expects the work to rule to run into November in line with union intentions.

Both Unite and Unison back the strike against the government's rejection of a recommended 1% pay rise for NHS staff.

Council staff are set to strike on October 14 and civil servants a day later in separate disputes with the government.

Unite head of health Rachael Maskell said the coalition needed to "contemplate" the damage done to the NHS over the last four years, and how NHS staff had borne the brunt of austerity measures to see their incomes fall by up to 15 per cent in real terms since 2010.