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The British Medical Association (BMA) has issued a warning against what it calls public "fearmongering" about the present influenza outbreak, as its members vote on whether to carry out planned strikes in England next week.

Union Response to Ministerial Worries

This follows after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, stated he was "deeply concerned" about the looming "double whammy" of increasing figures 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 "downplaying" the impact 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," a letter from the union declared.

Industrial Action Ballot and Possible Schedule

The result of a BMA ballot is expected on Monday. If it is rejected, a week-long walkout will commence on Wednesday.

Ministers states its proposal includes legislation that gives preference to British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to cover the costs professional development costs.

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

Calls for Attention on a Deal

In a statement, the BMA called on 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 BMA has also contacted chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, indicating that, should there be a strike, resident doctors may be called in to work to "ensure safe patient care."

Political Response and Influenza Data

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

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

Regarding the flu outbreak, experts 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 since records began 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 cope with and that hospitals were more ready for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic.

The BMA said it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be sufficient to avert Wednesday's strikes. If members vote in favor, a formal follow-up referendum would be held on resolving the dispute for good.