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The British Medical Association (BMA) has sounded a caution against what it calls widespread "alarmist rhetoric" about the current influenza outbreak, as its members vote on whether to carry out impending walkouts in England next week.

BMA Response to Government Concerns

This comes after the Health Minister, Wes Streeting, expressed "very anxious" about the looming "double whammy" 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, said that while the union was not "minimizing" the impact 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 Vote and Potential Schedule

The outcome of a members' referendum is due on Monday. If the offer is turned down, a industrial action lasting five days will start on Wednesday.

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

Yet, the deal excludes a wage hike. Sir Keir Starmer has written that pay for resident doctors has risen by 28.9% over the past three years.

Calls for Focus on a Solution

In a announcement, the BMA urged 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 union has also contacted chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, indicating that, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be required to return to work to "uphold safe patient care."

Political Reaction and Influenza Statistics

Speaking to media, Mr. Streeting said the present circumstances 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.

Echoing 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."

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 greatest for this time of year on record in 2021.

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

In spite of the rising numbers, 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 BMA stated it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be enough to call off Wednesday's strikes. Should members agree, a formal follow-up referendum would be held on ending the dispute for good.