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The leading doctors' union has raised an alarm against what it calls widespread "scaremongering" regarding the current influenza outbreak, as its members decide on whether to carry out planned strikes in England next week.

BMA Response to Government Concerns

This follows after the Health Minister, Wes Streeting, stated he was "deeply concerned" about the potential "combined impact" of rising numbers of flu patients in hospitals and the approaching resident doctor strikes.

BMA resident doctors committee chair, Dr Jack Fletcher, stated that while the union was not "minimizing" the severity of flu, Mr. Streeting "should not 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 noted.

Strike Ballot and Possible Timeline

The result of a union vote is scheduled for Monday. If it is rejected, a five-day strike will start on Wednesday.

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

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

Calls for Attention on a Solution

In a announcement, 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 union has also contacted chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, recognizing that, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be asked to come back to work to "uphold safe patient care."

Government Reaction and Influenza Statistics

Speaking to media, Mr. Streeting said the current situation 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 "irresponsible" 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 come early this winter. Approximately 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.

It is important to note, these records start from 2021 and so do not include the two worst flu seasons of the past 15 years.

Despite the increasing figures, the medical director for the NHS in London said the flu situation was "within manageable limits" of what the NHS could handle and that hospitals were more ready for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic.

The BMA indicated it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be sufficient to avert Wednesday's strikes. If members indicate yes, a second ballot would be held on ending the dispute completely.