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The British Medical Association (BMA) has sounded a caution against what it calls public "alarmist rhetoric" regarding the current influenza outbreak, while its members consider if they should proceed with impending walkouts in England next week.

Union Response to Ministerial Concerns

This comes after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, stated he was "very anxious" about the potential "combined impact" 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, remarked that while the union was not "diminishing" the severity 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 Vote and Possible Timeline

The result of a BMA ballot is due on Monday. Should members vote no, a industrial action lasting five days will start on Wednesday.

The government says its deal includes laws that prioritises British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to subsidize professional development costs.

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

Appeals for Attention on a Solution

In a release, the BMA called on 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 notified chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, indicating that, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be asked to come back to work to "uphold safe patient care."

Political 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 push the strike back to January.

Mirroring the health secretary, the prime minister said the "irresponsible" strikes "ought not to go ahead" 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. Around 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.

However, these records start from 2021 and so do not capture 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 cope with and that hospitals were more ready for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic.

The union indicated it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be sufficient to call off Wednesday's strikes. Should members vote in favor, a second ballot would be held on ending the dispute entirely.