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The British Medical Association (BMA) has sounded a caution against what it calls widespread "fearmongering" regarding the ongoing flu outbreak, while its members decide on whether to carry out planned strikes in England the coming week.

Union Response to Government Concerns

This follows after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, stated he was "extremely worried" about the potential "combined impact" of soaring counts of flu patients in hospitals and the approaching junior doctor strikes.

The head of the BMA's resident doctors' group, Dr Jack Fletcher, said that while the union was not "minimizing" 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 stated.

Industrial Action Vote and Possible Schedule

The result of a members' referendum is scheduled for Monday. If it is rejected, a industrial action lasting five days will start on Wednesday.

Ministers says its proposal includes legislation that gives preference to British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to pay for professional development costs.

Yet, the deal excludes a salary increase. The Prime Minister 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 release, the BMA appealed to 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 notified chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, saying that, should there be a strike, resident doctors may be called in to work to "uphold safe patient care."

Government Reaction and Influenza Data

In an interview with media, Mr. Streeting said the present circumstances was "perhaps the worst pressure the NHS has faced since Covid." He asked why the BMA hadn't accepted an offer to reschedule the industrial action 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 challenging moment since the pandemic."

Regarding the flu outbreak, health officials note it has come early 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.

However, 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 "well within the boundaries" of what the NHS could cope with 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 cancel Wednesday's strikes. If members agree, a second ballot would be held on ending the dispute for good.