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

Union Response to Ministerial Worries

This comes after the Health Minister, Wes Streeting, expressed "deeply concerned" about the potential "combined impact" of soaring counts of flu patients in hospitals and the forthcoming junior doctor strikes.

The head of the BMA's resident doctors' group, Dr Jack Fletcher, stated 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."

"In our role as physicians, we at the BMA wish to ensure that patients remain safe," correspondence from the union stated.

Strike Ballot and Potential Schedule

The result of a union vote is scheduled for Monday. Should members vote no, a five-day strike will begin on Wednesday.

The government argues its proposal includes measures that gives preference to British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to cover the costs exam fees.

However, the deal excludes a pay rise. The Prime Minister has commented that pay for resident doctors has risen by 28.9% over the past three years.

Appeals for Attention 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 BMA has also written to chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, indicating that, should there be a strike, resident doctors may be asked to come back to work to "ensure safe patient care."

Political Reaction and Influenza Data

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

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

Concerning the flu outbreak, experts note it has arrived sooner than usual this winter. Approximately 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 include the two worst flu seasons of the past 15 years.

In spite of the rising numbers, 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 better prepared for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic.

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