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The leading doctors' union has sounded a caution against what it calls widespread "alarmist rhetoric" regarding the ongoing flu outbreak, while its members decide on whether to carry out impending walkouts in England next week.

BMA Response to Government Worries

This statement arrives after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, stated he was "deeply concerned" about the potential "double whammy" of soaring counts of flu patients in hospitals and the approaching resident doctor strikes.

The head of the BMA's resident doctors' group, Dr Jack Fletcher, remarked that while the union was not "diminishing" 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."

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

Industrial Action Vote and Potential Timeline

The result of a members' referendum is expected on Monday. If the offer is turned down, a week-long walkout will start on Wednesday.

Ministers says its deal includes laws that prioritises British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to pay for professional development costs.

But, the deal excludes a salary increase. The Prime Minister has written that pay for resident doctors has grown by 28.9% over the past three years.

Appeals for Attention on a Deal

In a release, 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 written to chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, recognizing that, should there be a strike, resident doctors may be asked to come back to work to "uphold safe patient care."

Political Reaction and Flu Data

Speaking to media, Mr. Streeting said the present circumstances was "perhaps the worst pressure the NHS has faced since Covid." He asked why the BMA hadn't taken up an offer to push the strike back to January.

Mirroring the health secretary, the prime minister said the "reckless" strikes "should not happen" while the NHS is facing its "most challenging moment since the pandemic."

Regarding the flu outbreak, experts note it has arrived sooner than usual this winter. An average of 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.

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.

In spite of the increasing figures, the senior doctor for the NHS in London said the flu situation was "within manageable limits" of what the NHS could handle and that hospitals were better prepared for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic.

The BMA 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 ending the dispute for good.