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The British Medical Association (BMA) has raised an alarm against what it calls widespread "fearmongering" about the current influenza outbreak, while its members vote on whether to carry out planned strikes in England the coming week.

Union Reaction to Ministerial Concerns

This follows after the Health Minister, Wes Streeting, expressed "deeply concerned" about the potential "combined impact" of soaring counts of flu patients in hospitals and the approaching resident doctor strikes.

The head of the BMA's resident doctors' group, Dr Jack Fletcher, remarked 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."

"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 Potential Schedule

The outcome of a members' referendum is scheduled for Monday. Should members vote no, a industrial action lasting five days will commence on Wednesday.

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

But, the deal does not include a wage hike. Sir Keir Starmer has stated that pay for resident doctors has grown by 28.9% over the past three years.

Appeals for Attention on a Solution

In a release, the BMA appealed to 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 written to chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, recognizing that, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be asked to come back to work to "ensure safe patient care."

Government Response and Flu Data

In an interview with media, Mr. Streeting said the current situation 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.

Echoing the health secretary, the prime minister said the "irresponsible" strikes "should not happen" while the NHS is facing its "most vulnerable moment since the pandemic."

Concerning the flu outbreak, experts 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 highest 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 "within manageable limits" of what the NHS could cope with and that hospitals were better prepared for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic.

The BMA stated 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 ending the dispute entirely.