URGENT and life-threatening care will continue to be provided during a 72-hour junior doctors’ strike in Wales next week, but “significant disruption” is expected to other services, the head of Wales’ NHS has said.

Junior doctors will stage the latest in a series of strikes on Wednesday, February 21, with another walkout planned in March.

The walkout, which begins on 7am on Wednesday, February 21, and runs until 7am on Saturday, February 24, is being staged in a row over a proposed five per cent pay rise, which the British Medical Association (BMA) Cymru Wales has called the “worst” in the UK.

Health minister Eluned Morgan said the pay offer is “at the limits of the finances available to us and reflects the position reached with the other health unions”.

She added: “We remain committed to working in social partnership with the British Medical Association and are always open to have more talks.”

NHS Wales Chief Executive Judith Paget said: “As during the last strike we welcome the collaborative approach on patient safety taken by the BMA. We have been working with them and NHS organisations to ensure patient safety is protected during the industrial action.

“We expect significant disruption to non-emergency and elective activities during the industrial action, with much work already been postponed.

“During the last strike around 41 per cent of outpatient appointments and 61 per cent of operations were postponed across Wales.

“We expected services during the industrial action to resemble those generally provided on a Bank Holiday.

“However, if you have a critical need to attend an emergency department you should still do so.

“But we are also urging everyone to consider the best option for them, including 111 online or phone service, or their local pharmacy.”

Director of the Welsh NHS Confederation Darren Hughes said: “Patient safety is of course the number one priority. Health leaders and their teams will pull out all the stops to fill rotas ahead of the strikes, but the reality is more patients having their operations or appointments cancelled, which will impact on attempts to tackle waiting lists for routine hospital care.

“As always, it is patients who bear the greatest burden from industrial action, with around 41 per cent of outpatient appointments and 61 per cent of operations postponed across Wales in the last wave of industrial action by junior doctors in January.

“The impact of strike action is not just felt on the days of industrial action, but also following industrial action when the service does its best to catch up on postponed patient appointments and cancellations.

“It is not too late to restart negotiations and stop the strikes before more patients have their vital care delayed. We call on both sides to lay out the basis for a realistic settlement that would be satisfactory to the majority of junior doctors.”