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

BMA Response to Government Concerns

This statement arrives after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, expressed "extremely worried" about the looming "one-two punch" of increasing figures of flu patients in hospitals and the approaching junior doctor strikes.

The head of the BMA's resident doctors' group, Dr Jack Fletcher, remarked that while the union was not "diminishing" 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 Possible Schedule

The decision of a BMA ballot is scheduled for Monday. If it is rejected, a five-day strike will commence on Wednesday.

Ministers argues its offer includes legislation that prioritises British medical graduates for training posts starting next year and offers to pay for professional development costs.

Yet, 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 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 union has also written to chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, saying that, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be required to return to work to "maintain safe patient care."

Government Response and Influenza Statistics

In an interview with media, Mr. Streeting said the present circumstances was "perhaps the worst pressure the NHS has faced since Covid." He asked why the BMA hadn't accepted an offer to reschedule the industrial action to January.

Repeating the health secretary, the prime minister said the "reckless" strikes "should not happen" while the NHS is facing its "most vulnerable 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 greatest for this time of year on record 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 senior doctor for the NHS in London said the flu situation was "well within the boundaries" of what the NHS could cope with and that hospitals were more ready for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic.

The union said it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be enough to avert Wednesday's strikes. If members vote in favor, a formal follow-up referendum would be held on ending the dispute for good.