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The leading doctors' union has sounded a caution against what it calls public "scaremongering" regarding the current flu outbreak, while its members consider whether to carry out planned strikes in England the coming week.

Union Reaction to Ministerial Worries

This statement arrives after the Health Minister, Wes Streeting, stated he was "very anxious" about the looming "combined impact" of soaring counts of flu patients in hospitals and the approaching resident doctor strikes.

BMA resident doctors committee chair, Dr Jack Fletcher, remarked that while the union was not "diminishing" 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 stated.

Industrial Action Ballot and Possible Schedule

The outcome of a members' referendum is due on Monday. If it is rejected, a five-day strike will start on Wednesday.

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

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

Calls for Focus 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 notified chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, saying that, should there be a strike, resident doctors may be required to return to work to "uphold safe patient care."

Government Reaction and Flu Statistics

In an interview with media, Mr. Streeting said the current situation was "probably 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 "reckless" strikes "ought not to go ahead" while the NHS is facing its "most precarious moment since the pandemic."

Concerning the flu outbreak, health officials note it has come early 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.

However, these records only date back to 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 "well within the boundaries" of what the NHS could handle and that hospitals were better prepared for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic.

The union said it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be sufficient to cancel Wednesday's strikes. If members indicate yes, a detailed vote would be held on ending the dispute for good.