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The leading doctors' union has issued a warning against what it calls public "alarmist rhetoric" concerning the ongoing flu outbreak, while its members consider whether to carry out scheduled industrial action in England next week.

BMA Reaction to Government Worries

This follows after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, expressed "very anxious" about the looming "one-two punch" of increasing figures of flu patients in hospitals and the approaching junior doctor strikes.

BMA resident doctors committee chair, Dr Jack Fletcher, stated that while the union was not "minimizing" the severity 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 noted.

Strike Vote and Possible Timeline

The decision of a members' referendum is expected on Monday. If it is rejected, a week-long walkout will start on Wednesday.

Ministers states its proposal includes laws that prioritises British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to cover the costs professional development costs.

Yet, the deal excludes a pay rise. Sir Keir Starmer has commented that pay for resident doctors has grown by 28.9% over the past three years.

Calls for Attention on a Solution

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, saying that, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be called in to work to "maintain safe patient care."

Government Reaction and Influenza Data

Speaking to media, Mr. Streeting said the present circumstances was "perhaps the worst pressure the NHS has faced since Covid." He questioned why the BMA hadn't taken up an offer to push the strike back to January.

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

Concerning 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 greatest for this time of year on record in 2021.

It is important to note, these records only date back to 2021 and so do not capture the two worst flu seasons of the past 15 years.

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

The union stated it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be sufficient to call off Wednesday's strikes. Should members indicate yes, a second ballot would be held on resolving the dispute completely.