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The leading doctors' union has sounded a caution against what it calls widespread "fearmongering" regarding the ongoing influenza outbreak, while its members consider if they should proceed with scheduled industrial action in England the coming week.

BMA Reaction to Government Concerns

This statement arrives after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, expressed "deeply concerned" about the looming "one-two punch" 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 "minimizing" the severity of flu, Mr. Streeting "must avoid 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," a letter from the union noted.

Industrial Action Vote and Possible Schedule

The result of a members' referendum is scheduled for Monday. Should members vote no, a week-long walkout will begin on Wednesday.

Ministers argues its offer includes measures that prioritises British medical graduates for training posts starting next year and offers to subsidize exam fees.

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

Appeals for Attention on a Deal

In a release, the BMA appealed to the health secretary to "devote his efforts 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, indicating that, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be asked to come back to work to "ensure safe patient care."

Government Reaction and Influenza Statistics

Speaking to media, Mr. Streeting said the present circumstances 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 precarious moment since the pandemic."

Regarding the flu outbreak, experts note it has arrived sooner than usual 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 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 union stated it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be sufficient to cancel Wednesday's strikes. If members vote in favor, a second ballot would be held on resolving the dispute entirely.