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The leading doctors' union has sounded a caution against what it calls widespread "scaremongering" about the current influenza outbreak, as its members decide on the possibility of scheduled industrial action in England next week.

Union Reaction to Government Worries

This comes after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, expressed "extremely worried" about the looming "one-two punch" of rising numbers of flu patients in hospitals and the upcoming junior doctor strikes.

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

Strike Ballot and Potential Timeline

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

The government says its deal includes measures that prioritises British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to subsidize training expenses.

But, 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 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, recognizing that, should there be a strike, resident doctors may be asked to come back to work to "uphold safe patient care."

Government Response and Influenza Statistics

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

Regarding 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 greatest for this time of year on record in 2021.

It is important to note, these records only date back to 2021 and so do not capture 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 "under control" of what the NHS could cope with and that hospitals were more ready 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.