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The British Medical Association (BMA) has sounded a caution against what it calls widespread "fearmongering" about the present influenza outbreak, while its members vote on whether to carry out scheduled industrial action in England the coming week.

BMA Reaction to Government Concerns

This statement arrives after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, stated he was "extremely worried" about the looming "one-two punch" of rising numbers of flu patients in hospitals and the approaching junior doctor strikes.

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

"In our role as physicians, we at the BMA wish to ensure that patients remain safe," correspondence from the union noted.

Strike Vote and Possible Schedule

The decision of a BMA ballot is due on Monday. If the offer is turned down, a industrial action lasting five days will begin on Wednesday.

The government says its proposal includes laws that gives preference to British medical graduates for training posts starting next year and offers to cover the costs training expenses.

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

Calls for Attention on a Solution

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

Government Reaction and Influenza Data

In an interview with media, Mr. Streeting said the current situation was "probably 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 precarious moment since the pandemic."

Regarding the flu outbreak, experts note it has come early this winter. Approximately 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 capture the two worst flu seasons of the past 15 years.

Despite the increasing figures, the senior doctor for the NHS in London said the flu situation was "within manageable limits" of what the NHS could cope with 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 call off Wednesday's strikes. If members indicate yes, a second ballot would be held on ending the dispute entirely.