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

Union Reaction to Ministerial Concerns

This comes after the Health Minister, Wes Streeting, expressed "very anxious" about the potential "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 "minimizing" the effect of flu, Mr. Streeting "must avoid 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 stated.

Industrial Action Vote and Possible Timeline

The decision of a union vote is due on Monday. If the offer is turned down, a week-long walkout will start on Wednesday.

Ministers says its offer includes legislation that prioritises British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to pay for training expenses.

But, the deal omits a salary increase. Sir Keir Starmer has written that pay for resident doctors has grown by 28.9% over the past three years.

Calls for Attention on a Solution

In a statement, 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 BMA has also notified chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, indicating that, should there be a strike, resident doctors may be called in to work to "maintain safe patient care."

Political Reaction and Flu Data

Speaking to 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 push the strike back to January.

Repeating 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."

Regarding the flu outbreak, experts 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 highest for this time of year on record 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.

Despite the rising numbers, the senior doctor for the NHS in London said the flu situation was "under control" of what the NHS could handle and that hospitals were more ready for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic.

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