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The British Medical Association (BMA) has issued a warning against what it calls public "scaremongering" about the ongoing influenza outbreak, while its members consider if they should proceed with impending walkouts in England next week.

Union Response to Government Concerns

This statement arrives after the Health Minister, Wes Streeting, stated he was "very anxious" about the potential "one-two punch" of soaring counts of flu patients in hospitals and the approaching resident doctor strikes.

The head of the BMA's resident doctors' group, Dr Jack Fletcher, said that while the union was not "minimizing" 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."

"In our role as physicians, we at the BMA wish to ensure that patients remain safe," a letter from the union stated.

Industrial Action Vote and Possible Schedule

The outcome of a union vote is due on Monday. If it is rejected, a week-long walkout will begin on Wednesday.

The government argues its deal includes laws that prioritises British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to pay for exam fees.

But, the deal omits a pay rise. Sir Keir Starmer has stated that pay for resident doctors has grown by 28.9% over the past three years.

Calls for Focus on a Solution

In a statement, the BMA urged 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 BMA has also written to chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, saying that, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be asked to come back to work to "uphold safe patient care."

Political Response and Flu Data

Speaking to 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.

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

Concerning 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 capture the two worst flu seasons of the past 15 years.

In spite of the rising numbers, the medical director 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 stated it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be sufficient to call off Wednesday's strikes. Should members indicate yes, a formal follow-up referendum would be held on resolving the dispute entirely.