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The leading doctors' union has sounded a caution against what it calls public "fearmongering" concerning the current influenza outbreak, as its members decide on whether to carry out impending walkouts in England the coming week.

BMA Response to Government Worries

This comes after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, expressed "deeply concerned" about the potential "double whammy" of increasing figures of flu patients in hospitals and the upcoming junior doctor strikes.

The head of the BMA's resident doctors' group, 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."

"As doctors, we at the BMA wish to ensure that patients remain safe," correspondence from the union stated.

Industrial Action Vote and Potential Timeline

The outcome of a members' referendum is scheduled for Monday. If it is rejected, a industrial action lasting five days will begin on Wednesday.

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

Yet, the deal omits a pay rise. The Prime Minister has written that pay for resident doctors has risen by 28.9% over the past three years.

Calls for Focus on a Solution

In a announcement, 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 BMA has also contacted chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, saying that, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be required to return to work to "maintain 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.

Echoing 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."

Concerning the flu outbreak, experts note it has come early this winter. Around 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 start from 2021 and so do not include the two worst flu seasons of the past 15 years.

Despite the rising numbers, 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 more ready for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic.

The union indicated it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be enough to call off Wednesday's strikes. If members indicate yes, a second ballot would be held on ending the dispute completely.