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The British Medical Association (BMA) has issued a warning against what it calls widespread "scaremongering" about the present influenza outbreak, while its members consider whether to carry out impending walkouts in England the coming week.

Union Reaction to Government Concerns

This comes after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, expressed "extremely worried" about the looming "combined impact" of increasing figures of flu patients in hospitals and the approaching resident doctor strikes.

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

Strike Ballot and Potential Schedule

The decision of a BMA ballot is scheduled for Monday. Should members vote no, a week-long walkout will start on Wednesday.

The government states its proposal includes measures that gives preference to British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to cover the costs training expenses.

But, the deal does not include a wage hike. The Prime Minister has stated that pay for resident doctors has increased by 28.9% over the past three years.

Calls for Attention on a Solution

In a statement, the BMA called on 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 notified chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, indicating that, should there be a strike, resident doctors may be required to return to work to "uphold safe patient care."

Government Response and Flu Data

In an interview with 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 taken up an offer to push the strike back to January.

Repeating the health secretary, the prime minister said the "irresponsible" strikes "should not happen" while the NHS is facing its "most precarious moment since the pandemic."

Concerning the flu outbreak, experts note it has come early this winter. Around 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.

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 medical director for the NHS in London said the flu situation was "within manageable limits" of what the NHS could handle and that hospitals were more ready for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic.

The union stated it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be enough to cancel Wednesday's strikes. Should members agree, a detailed vote would be held on resolving the dispute entirely.