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The British Medical Association (BMA) has sounded a caution against what it calls widespread "alarmist rhetoric" about the current influenza outbreak, while its members decide on the possibility of scheduled industrial action in England the coming week.

Union Reaction to Ministerial Worries

This follows after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, expressed "very anxious" about the potential "double whammy" of soaring counts of flu patients in hospitals and the approaching resident doctor strikes.

BMA resident doctors committee chair, Dr Jack Fletcher, remarked that while the union was not "diminishing" 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 Possible Timeline

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

Ministers argues its offer includes measures that prioritises British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to subsidize training expenses.

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

Calls for Focus on a Deal

In a statement, the BMA urged 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 union has also written to chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, indicating that, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be called in to work to "maintain safe patient care."

Government Response and Influenza Data

In an interview with media, Mr. Streeting said the present circumstances was "perhaps the worst pressure the NHS has faced since Covid." He asked why the BMA hadn't taken up an offer to reschedule the industrial action to January.

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

Regarding the flu outbreak, experts note it has come early this winter. Around 2,660 patients per day were in hospital with flu in England last week – the highest for this time of year since records began in 2021.

It is important to note, these records start from 2021 and so do not include the two worst flu seasons of the past 15 years.

Despite the increasing figures, the medical director for the NHS in London said the flu situation was "under control" of what the NHS could manage and that hospitals were better prepared 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 call off Wednesday's strikes. Should members agree, a formal follow-up referendum would be held on ending the dispute for good.