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The leading doctors' union has issued a warning against what it calls widespread "fearmongering" regarding the ongoing flu outbreak, as its members decide on if they should proceed with scheduled industrial action in England the coming week.

BMA Response to Government Concerns

This comes after the Health Minister, Wes Streeting, stated he was "deeply concerned" about the looming "double whammy" 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 "minimizing" the severity 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," a letter from the union stated.

Industrial Action Vote and Potential Timeline

The outcome of a BMA ballot is expected on Monday. If the offer is turned down, a week-long walkout will begin on Wednesday.

The government argues its deal includes measures 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 wage hike. Sir Keir Starmer has written that pay for resident doctors has risen by 28.9% over the past three years.

Appeals for Attention on a Deal

In a announcement, the BMA called on 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, indicating that, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be asked to come back to work to "maintain safe patient care."

Political Reaction and Influenza Data

Speaking to 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 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 vulnerable moment since the pandemic."

Regarding the flu outbreak, experts note it has arrived sooner than usual this winter. Around 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 only date back to 2021 and so do not include the two worst flu seasons of the past 15 years.

Despite the rising numbers, the senior doctor 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 enough to avert Wednesday's strikes. Should members agree, a detailed vote would be held on resolving the dispute entirely.