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The leading doctors' union has sounded a caution against what it calls widespread "alarmist rhetoric" about the ongoing influenza outbreak, while its members decide on if they should proceed with impending walkouts in England the coming week.

BMA Response to Ministerial Concerns

This follows after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, stated he was "very anxious" about the potential "one-two punch" of increasing figures of flu patients in hospitals and the forthcoming junior doctor strikes.

The head of the BMA's resident doctors' group, Dr Jack Fletcher, remarked that while the union was not "minimizing" the effect of flu, Mr. Streeting "should not be scaremongering the public into thinking that the NHS will not be able to look after them."

"As doctors, we at the BMA wish to ensure that patients remain safe," correspondence from the union stated.

Industrial Action Vote and Possible Schedule

The result of a members' referendum is expected on Monday. If it is rejected, a five-day strike will commence on Wednesday.

The government says its proposal includes legislation that gives preference to British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to subsidize training expenses.

Yet, the deal omits a wage hike. Sir Keir Starmer has commented that pay for resident doctors has risen by 28.9% over the past three years.

Calls for Attention on a Deal

In a statement, the BMA called on the health secretary to "focus his time and attention on offering a deal that will stop next week's strikes going ahead, rather than making claims that strike action could cause the NHS to collapse."

The union has also notified chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, indicating that, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be asked to come back to work to "uphold safe patient care."

Political Reaction and Flu Statistics

Speaking to media, Mr. Streeting said the current situation was "perhaps the worst pressure the NHS has faced since Covid." He asked why the BMA hadn't accepted an offer to push the strike back to January.

Mirroring the health secretary, the prime minister said the "irresponsible" strikes "ought not to go ahead" while the NHS is facing its "most vulnerable moment since the pandemic."

Regarding the flu outbreak, experts note it has arrived sooner than usual this winter. An average of 2,660 patients per day were in hospital with flu in England last week – the highest for this time of year on record in 2021.

However, these records start from 2021 and so do not capture the two worst flu seasons of the past 15 years.

In spite of the rising numbers, the medical director for the NHS in London said the flu situation was "within manageable limits" of what the NHS could cope with and that hospitals were better prepared for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic.

The BMA indicated it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be sufficient to cancel Wednesday's strikes. Should members indicate yes, a detailed vote would be held on resolving the dispute entirely.