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The leading doctors' union has issued a warning against what it calls widespread "alarmist rhetoric" concerning the current influenza outbreak, as its members vote on whether to carry out planned strikes in England the coming week.

BMA Reaction to Ministerial Concerns

This follows after the Health Minister, Wes Streeting, expressed "very anxious" about the potential "double whammy" of rising numbers of flu patients in hospitals and the upcoming junior doctor strikes.

The head of the BMA's resident doctors' group, Dr Jack Fletcher, remarked that while the union was not "downplaying" the severity of flu, Mr. Streeting "must avoid 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," a letter from the union declared.

Industrial Action Ballot and Possible Schedule

The result of a BMA ballot is scheduled for Monday. If the offer is turned down, a five-day strike will commence on Wednesday.

The government says its deal includes measures that prioritises British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to subsidize professional development costs.

However, the deal does not include a salary increase. The Prime Minister has commented that pay for resident doctors has increased by 28.9% over the past three years.

Calls for Focus on a Solution

In a release, the BMA urged the health secretary to "concentrate 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 contacted chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, saying that, should there be a strike, resident doctors may be asked to come back to work to "uphold safe patient care."

Government Response and Influenza Data

In an interview with 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 push the strike back to January.

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

Regarding the flu outbreak, health officials 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.

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

The BMA said it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be sufficient to avert Wednesday's strikes. Should members vote in favor, a detailed vote would be held on ending the dispute completely.