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The British Medical Association (BMA) has issued a warning against what it calls widespread "scaremongering" concerning the ongoing influenza outbreak, as its members consider if they should proceed with scheduled industrial action in England next week.

BMA Response to Government Worries

This statement arrives after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, expressed "extremely worried" about the looming "double whammy" of rising numbers of flu patients in hospitals and the forthcoming resident doctor strikes.

The head of the BMA's resident doctors' group, Dr Jack Fletcher, stated that while the union was not "diminishing" 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 stated.

Industrial Action Vote and Possible Timeline

The outcome of a BMA ballot is scheduled for Monday. If the offer is turned down, a week-long walkout will begin on Wednesday.

The government says its proposal includes laws that prioritises British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to cover the costs exam fees.

However, the deal omits a salary increase. The Prime Minister has written that pay for resident doctors has risen by 28.9% over the past three years.

Calls for Attention on a Solution

In a release, the BMA urged 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 contacted chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, saying that, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be called in to work to "maintain safe patient care."

Government Response and Flu Statistics

In an interview with 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 taken up an offer to push the strike back 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, health officials 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.

It is important to note, these records only date back to 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 "under control" of what the NHS could handle and that hospitals were more ready 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 cancel Wednesday's strikes. If members indicate yes, a second ballot would be held on ending the dispute for good.