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The leading doctors' union has issued a warning against what it calls public "fearmongering" concerning the present flu outbreak, as its members consider if they should proceed with impending walkouts in England the coming week.

BMA Response to Government Concerns

This follows after the Health Minister, Wes Streeting, expressed "deeply concerned" about the potential "one-two punch" of rising numbers of flu patients in hospitals and the upcoming junior doctor strikes.

BMA resident doctors committee chair, Dr Jack Fletcher, stated that while the union was not "diminishing" the effect 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 Timeline

The decision of a union vote is expected on Monday. Should members vote no, a industrial action lasting five days will begin on Wednesday.

Ministers says its deal includes measures that gives preference to British medical graduates for training posts starting next year and offers to pay for training expenses.

However, the deal omits a wage hike. 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 Deal

In a release, 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, should there be a strike, resident doctors may be required to return to work to "ensure safe patient care."

Government Response and Flu Statistics

Speaking to media, Mr. Streeting said the current situation was "perhaps 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 "irresponsible" strikes "ought not to go ahead" while the NHS is facing its "most vulnerable moment since the pandemic."

Concerning the flu outbreak, health officials note it has arrived sooner than usual this winter. An average of 2,660 patients per day were in hospital with flu in England last week – the greatest 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 medical director for the NHS in London said the flu situation was "within manageable limits" of what the NHS could cope with 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 cancel Wednesday's strikes. Should members vote in favor, a second ballot would be held on resolving the dispute for good.