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The leading doctors' union has issued a warning against what it calls public "fearmongering" about the current flu outbreak, while its members vote on the possibility of impending walkouts in England next week.

BMA Reaction to Government Worries

This follows after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, expressed "extremely worried" about the potential "combined impact" of increasing figures of flu patients in hospitals and the approaching junior doctor strikes.

The head of the BMA's resident doctors' group, Dr Jack Fletcher, stated that while the union was not "diminishing" the effect of flu, Mr. Streeting "ought not to 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 declared.

Strike Ballot and Possible Schedule

The outcome of a union vote is due on Monday. Should members vote no, a five-day strike will start on Wednesday.

The government says its offer includes laws that gives preference to British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to pay for exam fees.

However, the deal excludes a salary increase. Sir Keir Starmer has stated that pay for resident doctors has risen by 28.9% over the past three years.

Appeals for Attention on a Deal

In a statement, the BMA urged 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 BMA has also contacted chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, indicating that, should there be a strike, resident doctors may be called in to work to "uphold safe patient care."

Political Response and Influenza Statistics

Speaking to media, Mr. Streeting said the current situation was "perhaps the worst pressure the NHS has faced since Covid." He questioned why the BMA hadn't taken up an offer to reschedule the industrial action to January.

Repeating the health secretary, the prime minister said the "irresponsible" strikes "should not happen" while the NHS is facing its "most vulnerable moment since the pandemic."

Regarding the flu outbreak, health officials note it has arrived sooner than usual this winter. Around 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.

Despite the increasing figures, the senior doctor for the NHS in London said the flu situation was "under control" of what the NHS could manage and that hospitals were more ready for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic.

The union said it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be sufficient to avert Wednesday's strikes. If members indicate yes, a formal follow-up referendum would be held on resolving the dispute for good.