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The British Medical Association (BMA) has sounded a caution against what it calls public "scaremongering" concerning the present influenza outbreak, while its members vote on whether to carry out planned strikes in England the coming week.

Union Reaction to Ministerial Concerns

This comes after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, stated he was "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, said that while the union was not "diminishing" 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."

"As doctors, we at the BMA wish to ensure that patients remain safe," correspondence from the union stated.

Strike Ballot and Potential Timeline

The outcome of a BMA ballot is expected on Monday. If the offer is turned down, a five-day strike will begin on Wednesday.

Ministers says its proposal includes measures that prioritises British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to pay for training expenses.

But, the deal omits a pay rise. The Prime Minister has written that pay for resident doctors has grown by 28.9% over the past three years.

Appeals for Attention on a Solution

In a release, the BMA urged 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 BMA has also notified chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, indicating that, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be required to return to work to "uphold safe patient care."

Political Reaction 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 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."

Regarding the flu outbreak, experts note it has arrived sooner than usual 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.

Despite the increasing figures, the medical director 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 union stated it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be enough to call off Wednesday's strikes. If members agree, a formal follow-up referendum would be held on resolving the dispute entirely.