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The British Medical Association (BMA) has sounded a caution against what it calls public "scaremongering" regarding the ongoing influenza outbreak, as its members consider whether to carry out impending walkouts in England next week.

BMA Response to Ministerial Concerns

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

BMA resident doctors committee chair, Dr Jack Fletcher, said that while the union was not "diminishing" the severity of flu, Mr. Streeting "should not 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," a letter from the union noted.

Strike Ballot and Possible Timeline

The result of a members' referendum is due on Monday. If the offer is turned down, a industrial action lasting five days will commence on Wednesday.

Ministers says its deal includes laws that gives preference to British medical graduates for training posts starting next year and offers to cover the costs exam fees.

However, the deal does not include a salary increase. Sir Keir Starmer has written that pay for resident doctors has increased by 28.9% over the past three years.

Calls for Attention on a Solution

In a statement, the BMA urged 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 contacted chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, saying that, should there be a strike, resident doctors may be called in to work to "uphold safe patient care."

Government Response and Flu Data

In an interview with media, Mr. Streeting said the present circumstances was "probably the worst pressure the NHS has faced since Covid." He asked why the BMA hadn't accepted 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 precarious moment since the pandemic."

Regarding the flu outbreak, experts 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 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 "under control" of what the NHS could manage and that hospitals were better prepared 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 call off Wednesday's strikes. Should members agree, a second ballot would be held on resolving the dispute entirely.