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The British Medical Association (BMA) has issued a warning against what it calls public "scaremongering" concerning the present flu outbreak, while its members consider if they should proceed with impending walkouts in England the coming week.

Union Response to Government Concerns

This follows after the Health Minister, Wes Streeting, expressed "extremely worried" about the looming "double whammy" of increasing figures of flu patients in hospitals and the upcoming junior doctor strikes.

BMA resident doctors committee chair, Dr Jack Fletcher, said that while the union was not "downplaying" the impact of flu, Mr. Streeting "ought not to 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 declared.

Industrial Action Vote and Possible Timeline

The outcome of a members' referendum is scheduled for Monday. If the offer is turned down, a week-long walkout will start on Wednesday.

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

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

Appeals for Attention on a Deal

In a announcement, the BMA appealed to 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, recognizing that, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be called in to work to "ensure safe patient care."

Government Response and Influenza Data

In an interview with 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 reschedule the industrial action to January.

Repeating the health secretary, the prime minister said the "reckless" strikes "ought not to go ahead" 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 greatest for this time of year since records began 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.

Despite the rising numbers, the senior doctor for the NHS in London said the flu situation was "within manageable limits" 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 enough to call off Wednesday's strikes. Should members vote in favor, a detailed vote would be held on resolving the dispute completely.