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The leading doctors' union has raised an alarm against what it calls public "scaremongering" about the current flu outbreak, while its members vote on if they should proceed with impending walkouts in England next week.

BMA Response to Government Concerns

This statement arrives after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, stated he was "extremely worried" 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, remarked that while the union was not "downplaying" the effect 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 noted.

Industrial Action Vote and Possible Schedule

The result of a members' referendum is scheduled for Monday. If it is rejected, a week-long walkout will commence on Wednesday.

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

But, the deal does not include a wage hike. The Prime Minister has commented that pay for resident doctors has grown by 28.9% over the past three years.

Calls for Focus on a Solution

In a announcement, the BMA urged the health secretary to "devote his efforts 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 written to chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, recognizing that, should there be a strike, resident doctors may be called in to work to "uphold safe patient care."

Political Reaction and Flu Statistics

Speaking to media, Mr. Streeting said the current situation was "probably 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.

Repeating 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, 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 highest for this time of year on record in 2021.

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

In spite of the increasing figures, the medical director for the NHS in London said the flu situation was "under control" of what the NHS could manage and that hospitals were better prepared 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 cancel Wednesday's strikes. If members agree, a detailed vote would be held on ending the dispute entirely.