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The British Medical Association (BMA) has issued a warning against what it calls public "alarmist rhetoric" regarding the ongoing flu outbreak, as its members decide on whether to carry out impending walkouts in England next week.

Union Reaction to Government Concerns

This statement arrives after the Health Minister, Wes Streeting, stated he was "deeply concerned" about the potential "one-two punch" of rising numbers of flu patients in hospitals and the upcoming resident 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 "should not 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 noted.

Industrial Action Ballot and Possible Timeline

The outcome of a members' referendum is scheduled for Monday. If the offer is turned down, a five-day strike will commence on Wednesday.

The government argues its deal includes laws that gives preference to British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to subsidize training expenses.

However, the deal omits a salary increase. Sir Keir Starmer has written that pay for resident doctors has increased by 28.9% over the past three years.

Appeals for Focus on a Solution

In a statement, the BMA urged the health secretary to "concentrate 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, recognizing that, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be asked to come back to work to "ensure safe patient care."

Government Response 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 asked why the BMA hadn't taken up an offer to reschedule the industrial action 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 precarious moment since the pandemic."

Concerning the flu outbreak, experts 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 highest for this time of year on record in 2021.

However, these records only date back to 2021 and so do not include the two worst flu seasons of the past 15 years.

Despite the increasing figures, the senior doctor for the NHS in London said the flu situation was "under control" of what the NHS could handle and that hospitals were more ready for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic.

The BMA indicated it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be sufficient to cancel Wednesday's strikes. If members indicate yes, a formal follow-up referendum would be held on ending the dispute entirely.