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The leading doctors' union has raised an alarm against what it calls widespread "alarmist rhetoric" about the ongoing influenza outbreak, as its members consider the possibility of planned strikes in England next week.

Union Reaction to Government Concerns

This statement arrives after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, expressed "extremely worried" about the potential "one-two punch" of soaring counts of flu patients in hospitals and the upcoming junior doctor strikes.

The head of the BMA's resident doctors' group, Dr Jack Fletcher, remarked that while the union was not "minimizing" the severity of flu, Mr. Streeting "ought not to 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.

Strike Vote and Potential Timeline

The decision of a union vote is due on Monday. If it is rejected, a week-long walkout will start on Wednesday.

Ministers says its offer includes measures that gives preference to British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to subsidize professional development costs.

But, the deal does not include a salary increase. The Prime Minister has stated that pay for resident doctors has increased by 28.9% over the past three years.

Appeals for Attention on a Solution

In a announcement, 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 contacted chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, recognizing that, should there be a strike, resident doctors may be called in to work to "uphold safe patient care."

Government Response and Influenza Statistics

In an interview with 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 "reckless" strikes "ought not to go ahead" while the NHS is facing its "most challenging moment since the pandemic."

Regarding the flu outbreak, experts note it has arrived sooner than usual this winter. An average of 2,660 patients per day were in hospital with flu in England last week – the highest for this time of year on record in 2021.

It is important to note, these records start from 2021 and so do not include the two worst flu seasons of the past 15 years.

In spite of the increasing figures, the medical director for the NHS in London said the flu situation was "within manageable limits" 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 cancel Wednesday's strikes. If members agree, a second ballot would be held on ending the dispute completely.