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The British Medical Association (BMA) has sounded a caution against what it calls widespread "alarmist rhetoric" concerning the ongoing influenza outbreak, as its members vote on whether to carry out planned strikes in England the coming week.

BMA Reaction to Ministerial Concerns

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

The head of the BMA's resident doctors' group, Dr Jack Fletcher, said 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," correspondence from the union noted.

Industrial Action Ballot and Potential Schedule

The decision of a members' referendum is due on Monday. Should members vote no, a week-long walkout will commence on Wednesday.

The government says its proposal includes measures that prioritises British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to pay for exam fees.

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

Appeals for Attention on a Deal

In a release, the BMA urged 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 union has also notified chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, indicating that, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be asked to come back to work to "uphold safe patient care."

Government Response and Flu Data

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 taken up 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, health officials note it has arrived sooner than usual this winter. Around 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 include the two worst flu seasons of the past 15 years.

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

The BMA indicated it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be enough to avert Wednesday's strikes. Should members vote in favor, a formal follow-up referendum would be held on ending the dispute entirely.