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The leading doctors' union has issued a warning against what it calls widespread "fearmongering" concerning the present flu outbreak, while its members vote on whether to carry out planned strikes in England next week.

BMA Response to Government Worries

This statement arrives after the Health Minister, Wes Streeting, stated he was "very anxious" about the potential "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 "diminishing" the severity of flu, Mr. Streeting "should not be 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 Ballot and Potential Timeline

The result of a BMA ballot is due on Monday. If it is rejected, a week-long walkout will start on Wednesday.

Ministers states its proposal includes laws that prioritises British medical graduates for training posts starting next year and offers to cover the costs exam fees.

However, the deal excludes a pay rise. Sir Keir Starmer has commented that pay for resident doctors has increased by 28.9% over the past three years.

Appeals for Focus on a Deal

In a release, the BMA called on the health secretary to "concentrate 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, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be called in to work to "uphold safe patient care."

Political Reaction and Influenza Statistics

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.

Echoing 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 arrived sooner than usual this winter. Approximately 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 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 cancel Wednesday's strikes. If members vote in favor, a formal follow-up referendum would be held on resolving the dispute entirely.