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The British Medical Association (BMA) has issued a warning against what it calls widespread "alarmist rhetoric" regarding the ongoing influenza outbreak, while its members vote on if they should proceed with impending walkouts in England the coming week.

BMA Response to Ministerial Worries

This statement arrives after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, expressed "extremely worried" about the potential "combined impact" of increasing figures of flu patients in hospitals and the approaching junior doctor strikes.

BMA resident doctors committee chair, Dr Jack Fletcher, stated that while the union was not "diminishing" the effect 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 declared.

Industrial Action Ballot and Possible Timeline

The decision of a BMA ballot is expected on Monday. If the offer is turned down, a five-day strike will start on Wednesday.

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

Yet, the deal omits a pay rise. Sir Keir Starmer has stated that pay for resident doctors has grown by 28.9% over the past three years.

Calls for Focus on a Deal

In a statement, the BMA appealed to 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, saying that, should there be a strike, resident doctors may be called in to work to "maintain safe patient care."

Government Response and Influenza Data

Speaking to media, Mr. Streeting said the current situation was "probably the worst pressure the NHS has faced since Covid." He questioned why the BMA hadn't accepted an offer to reschedule the industrial action 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 challenging moment since the pandemic."

Regarding the flu outbreak, health officials 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 greatest for this time of year on record in 2021.

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

In spite of the rising numbers, the medical director for the NHS in London said the flu situation was "under control" of what the NHS could manage and that hospitals were better prepared for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic.

The union indicated it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be enough to cancel Wednesday's strikes. Should members indicate yes, a formal follow-up referendum would be held on resolving the dispute completely.