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The leading doctors' union has issued a warning against what it calls widespread "alarmist rhetoric" about the ongoing influenza outbreak, while its members vote on whether to carry out planned strikes in England next week.

BMA Response to Government Concerns

This statement arrives after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, expressed "deeply concerned" about the potential "combined impact" of rising numbers of flu patients in hospitals and the approaching junior doctor strikes.

The head of the BMA's resident doctors' group, Dr Jack Fletcher, stated that while the union was not "downplaying" the effect 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," correspondence from the union declared.

Industrial Action Vote and Potential Timeline

The outcome of a members' referendum is expected on Monday. If the offer is turned down, a five-day strike will commence on Wednesday.

Ministers says its proposal includes measures that gives preference to British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to cover the costs exam fees.

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

Appeals for Attention on a Solution

In a release, 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 union has also written to chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, recognizing that, should there be a strike, resident doctors may be required to return to work to "uphold safe patient care."

Government Response and Flu 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 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 challenging moment since the pandemic."

Regarding the flu outbreak, health officials 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.

However, these records only date back to 2021 and so do not capture the two worst flu seasons of the past 15 years.

In spite of the increasing figures, the medical director for the NHS in London said the flu situation was "under control" of what the NHS could manage and that hospitals were more ready 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 avert Wednesday's strikes. Should members indicate yes, a second ballot would be held on ending the dispute for good.