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The leading doctors' union has raised an alarm against what it calls public "scaremongering" about the current flu outbreak, while its members vote on if they should proceed with scheduled industrial action in England next week.

Union Response to Government Worries

This follows after the Health Minister, Wes Streeting, expressed "deeply concerned" about the looming "one-two punch" of increasing figures of flu patients in hospitals and the approaching junior doctor strikes.

The head of the BMA's resident doctors' group, Dr Jack Fletcher, remarked that while the union was not "minimizing" the effect 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," correspondence from the union declared.

Strike Ballot and Potential Timeline

The decision of a BMA ballot is due on Monday. If it is rejected, a five-day strike will begin on Wednesday.

Ministers argues its offer includes measures that gives preference to British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to cover the costs exam fees.

But, the deal omits a salary increase. The Prime Minister has commented that pay for resident doctors has risen by 28.9% over the past three years.

Appeals for Focus on a Solution

In a statement, 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 BMA has also notified chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, saying that, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be asked to come back to work to "uphold safe patient care."

Government Response and Flu Data

Speaking to media, Mr. Streeting said the current situation was "perhaps the worst pressure the NHS has faced since Covid." He questioned why the BMA hadn't accepted 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 vulnerable moment since the pandemic."

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

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 senior doctor for the NHS in London said the flu situation was "well within the boundaries" 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 avert Wednesday's strikes. Should members indicate yes, a formal follow-up referendum would be held on resolving the dispute for good.