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The British Medical Association (BMA) has issued a warning against what it calls public "scaremongering" about the current flu outbreak, while its members consider if they should proceed with scheduled industrial action in England the coming week.

BMA Reaction to Government Concerns

This comes after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, expressed "extremely worried" about the looming "double whammy" of rising numbers of flu patients in hospitals and the forthcoming junior doctor strikes.

The head of the BMA's resident doctors' group, Dr Jack Fletcher, stated that while the union was not "diminishing" 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," correspondence from the union noted.

Industrial Action Ballot and Potential Timeline

The decision of a BMA ballot is due on Monday. If the offer is turned down, a five-day strike will commence on Wednesday.

Ministers says its deal includes legislation that gives preference to British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to pay for professional development costs.

But, the deal does not include a pay rise. The Prime Minister has written that pay for resident doctors has grown by 28.9% over the past three years.

Calls for Attention on a Solution

In a announcement, 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 written to 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."

Political Reaction and Influenza Data

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.

Mirroring the health secretary, the prime minister said the "reckless" strikes "ought not to go ahead" while the NHS is facing its "most vulnerable moment since the pandemic."

Concerning the flu outbreak, experts note it has arrived sooner than usual 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.

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 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 said it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be sufficient to avert Wednesday's strikes. Should members indicate yes, a formal follow-up referendum would be held on resolving the dispute completely.