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The leading doctors' union has raised an alarm against what it calls widespread "scaremongering" regarding the current flu outbreak, while its members consider the possibility of planned strikes in England the coming week.

BMA Reaction to Government Worries

This comes after the Health Minister, Wes Streeting, expressed "very anxious" about the potential "one-two punch" of rising numbers of flu patients in hospitals and the approaching resident doctor strikes.

BMA resident doctors committee chair, Dr Jack Fletcher, stated that while the union was not "minimizing" the severity of flu, Mr. Streeting "must avoid scaremongering the public into thinking that the NHS will not be able to look after them."

"As doctors, we at the BMA wish to ensure that patients remain safe," a letter from the union stated.

Industrial Action Vote and Potential Timeline

The result of a members' referendum is scheduled for Monday. Should members vote no, a week-long walkout will start on Wednesday.

Ministers states its proposal includes measures that prioritises British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to subsidize training expenses.

Yet, the deal does not include a pay rise. Sir Keir Starmer has commented that pay for resident doctors has grown by 28.9% over the past three years.

Calls for Attention on a Solution

In a release, the BMA appealed to 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 BMA has also written to 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 "maintain safe patient care."

Political Response and Flu Data

Speaking to 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 accepted an offer to push the strike back to January.

Mirroring 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, health officials 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 greatest for this time of year since records began in 2021.

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

Despite the rising numbers, the medical director for the NHS in London said the flu situation was "within manageable limits" of what the NHS could manage and that hospitals were better prepared 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 avert Wednesday's strikes. If members agree, a detailed vote would be held on resolving the dispute entirely.