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The British Medical Association (BMA) has raised an alarm against what it calls widespread "alarmist rhetoric" regarding the present influenza outbreak, as its members vote on the possibility of impending walkouts in England next week.

Union Response to Government Concerns

This comes after the Health Minister, Wes Streeting, expressed "deeply concerned" about the potential "combined impact" of increasing figures of flu patients in hospitals and the forthcoming resident doctor strikes.

BMA resident doctors committee chair, Dr Jack Fletcher, stated that while the union was not "downplaying" the severity of flu, Mr. Streeting "should not 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.

Strike Vote and Possible Schedule

The result of a BMA ballot is expected on Monday. If it is rejected, a week-long walkout will commence on Wednesday.

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

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

Calls for Focus on a Solution

In a announcement, the BMA appealed to 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 union 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 "ensure safe patient care."

Government Reaction and Influenza Statistics

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 reschedule the industrial action to January.

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

Concerning the flu outbreak, health officials note it has come early this winter. Approximately 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.

However, 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 medical director for the NHS in London said the flu situation was "well within the boundaries" of what the NHS could cope with and that hospitals were better prepared for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic.

The BMA indicated it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be sufficient to call off Wednesday's strikes. If members agree, a formal follow-up referendum would be held on ending the dispute for good.