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The leading doctors' union has issued a warning against what it calls public "scaremongering" concerning the ongoing flu outbreak, as its members vote on the possibility of impending walkouts in England the coming week.

BMA Response to Ministerial Concerns

This follows after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, expressed "deeply concerned" about the potential "one-two punch" of increasing figures of flu patients in hospitals and the forthcoming junior doctor strikes.

BMA resident doctors committee chair, Dr Jack Fletcher, said that while the union was not "minimizing" the effect of flu, Mr. Streeting "ought not to 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," a letter from the union stated.

Industrial Action Vote and Potential Timeline

The decision of a BMA ballot is expected on Monday. If it is rejected, a industrial action lasting five days will start on Wednesday.

The government argues its proposal includes legislation that gives preference to British medical graduates for training posts starting next year and offers to pay for professional development costs.

However, the deal excludes a wage hike. The Prime Minister has stated that pay for resident doctors has grown by 28.9% over the past three years.

Appeals for Focus on a Solution

In a statement, 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 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."

Political Reaction and Influenza Data

In an interview with media, Mr. Streeting said the present circumstances was "perhaps the worst pressure the NHS has faced since Covid." He questioned why the BMA hadn't accepted an offer to push the strike back to January.

Repeating the health secretary, the prime minister said the "irresponsible" strikes "ought not to go ahead" while the NHS is facing its "most vulnerable 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 since records began in 2021.

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

Despite the rising numbers, the medical director for the NHS in London said the flu situation was "well within the boundaries" of what the NHS could manage and that hospitals were better prepared for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic.

The union stated it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be sufficient to cancel Wednesday's strikes. If members indicate yes, a second ballot would be held on resolving the dispute entirely.