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The leading doctors' union has sounded a caution against what it calls widespread "alarmist rhetoric" about the ongoing flu outbreak, while its members vote on the possibility of scheduled industrial action in England next week.

BMA Reaction to Government Concerns

This statement arrives after the Health Minister, Wes Streeting, expressed "deeply concerned" about the looming "one-two punch" of increasing figures of flu patients in hospitals and the upcoming resident doctor strikes.

BMA resident doctors committee chair, Dr Jack Fletcher, remarked that while the union was not "downplaying" 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 noted.

Industrial Action Ballot and Potential Schedule

The result of a union vote is scheduled for Monday. Should members vote no, a five-day strike will start on Wednesday.

Ministers states its proposal includes legislation that gives preference to British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to pay for exam fees.

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

Calls for Focus on a Solution

In a release, the BMA called on 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, saying that, should there be a strike, resident doctors may be asked to come back to work to "ensure safe patient care."

Government Response and Flu Statistics

In an interview with media, Mr. Streeting said the present circumstances was "perhaps 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.

Mirroring the health secretary, the prime minister said the "reckless" strikes "ought not to go ahead" while the NHS is facing its "most precarious moment since the pandemic."

Regarding 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 greatest for this time of year since records began 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 increasing figures, 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 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 sufficient to call off Wednesday's strikes. If members vote in favor, a second ballot would be held on resolving the dispute entirely.