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The leading doctors' union has issued a warning against what it calls widespread "fearmongering" about the ongoing flu outbreak, as its members decide on whether to carry out impending walkouts in England next week.

BMA Response to Government Worries

This comes after the Health Minister, Wes Streeting, expressed "extremely worried" about the looming "double whammy" of soaring counts of flu patients in hospitals and the forthcoming junior doctor strikes.

The head of the BMA's resident doctors' group, Dr Jack Fletcher, said that while the union was not "diminishing" the impact of flu, Mr. Streeting "ought not to be scaremongering the public into thinking that the NHS will not be able to look after them."

"In our role as physicians, we at the BMA wish to ensure that patients remain safe," correspondence from the union noted.

Industrial Action Ballot and Possible Schedule

The decision of a BMA ballot is scheduled for Monday. Should members vote no, a industrial action lasting five days will begin on Wednesday.

The government argues its deal includes laws that prioritises British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to pay for training expenses.

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

Calls for Attention on a Deal

In a announcement, the BMA appealed to 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 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 Reaction and Flu Data

Speaking to media, Mr. Streeting said the present circumstances was "probably 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.

Repeating the health secretary, the prime minister said the "reckless" strikes "should not happen" while the NHS is facing its "most challenging moment since the pandemic."

Regarding the flu outbreak, experts note it has come early 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 since records began 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 increasing figures, 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 BMA said it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be enough to call off Wednesday's strikes. Should members indicate yes, a formal follow-up referendum would be held on resolving the dispute for good.