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The leading doctors' union has issued a warning against what it calls widespread "fearmongering" about the present flu outbreak, while its members consider if they should proceed with planned strikes in England next week.

BMA Response to Ministerial Concerns

This comes after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, expressed "deeply concerned" about the potential "double whammy" of soaring counts 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 "downplaying" the severity of flu, Mr. Streeting "ought not to 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.

Strike Ballot and Potential Timeline

The result of a members' referendum is scheduled for Monday. If it is rejected, a industrial action lasting five days will start on Wednesday.

The government states its proposal includes legislation that gives preference to British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to subsidize exam fees.

Yet, the deal omits a pay rise. Sir Keir Starmer has written that pay for resident doctors has risen by 28.9% over the past three years.

Calls for Focus on a Solution

In a statement, 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, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be required to return to work to "maintain safe patient care."

Government Response and Influenza Statistics

In an interview with media, Mr. Streeting said the present circumstances was "probably the worst pressure the NHS has faced since Covid." He asked why the BMA hadn't accepted 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, health officials note it has come early this winter. Around 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 capture 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 "within manageable limits" of what the NHS could manage and that hospitals were more ready for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic.

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