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The British Medical Association (BMA) has sounded a caution against what it calls widespread "alarmist rhetoric" about the ongoing flu outbreak, as its members consider whether to carry out impending walkouts in England next week.

BMA Response to Government Concerns

This comes after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, expressed "very anxious" about the potential "combined impact" of increasing figures of flu patients in hospitals and the approaching resident doctor strikes.

BMA resident doctors committee chair, Dr Jack Fletcher, said that while the union was not "downplaying" the effect 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," correspondence from the union declared.

Industrial Action Vote and Potential Schedule

The result of a union vote is scheduled for Monday. Should members vote no, a industrial action lasting five days will start on Wednesday.

The government argues its proposal includes laws that prioritises British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to cover the costs exam fees.

But, the deal omits a wage hike. The Prime Minister has stated that pay for resident doctors has increased by 28.9% over the past three years.

Appeals for Focus on a Solution

In a announcement, the BMA urged 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 BMA has also notified chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, recognizing that, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be required to return to work to "uphold safe patient care."

Political Reaction and Flu Statistics

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 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 precarious moment since the pandemic."

Concerning 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.

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.

Despite the rising numbers, the medical director for the NHS in London said the flu situation was "well within the boundaries" of what the NHS could handle and that hospitals were more ready for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic.

The union indicated it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be sufficient to avert Wednesday's strikes. If members vote in favor, a detailed vote would be held on ending the dispute entirely.