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The leading doctors' union has sounded a caution against what it calls public "scaremongering" concerning the current influenza outbreak, as its members vote on if they should proceed with planned strikes in England next week.

Union Response to Government Concerns

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

BMA resident doctors committee chair, Dr Jack Fletcher, said that while the union was not "minimizing" the impact 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," correspondence from the union noted.

Industrial Action Vote and Potential Timeline

The decision of a BMA ballot is expected on Monday. Should members vote no, a five-day strike will start on Wednesday.

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

However, the deal does not include a pay rise. Sir Keir Starmer has commented that pay for resident doctors has risen by 28.9% over the past three years.

Calls 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 BMA has also contacted chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, saying that, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be called in to work to "uphold safe patient care."

Government Reaction and Flu Data

In an interview with 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 taken up an offer to reschedule the industrial action to January.

Mirroring the health secretary, the prime minister said the "reckless" strikes "should not happen" 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 highest for this time of year since records began in 2021.

It is important to note, 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 senior doctor 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 indicated it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be sufficient to cancel Wednesday's strikes. Should members vote in favor, a detailed vote would be held on ending the dispute completely.