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The leading doctors' union has sounded a caution against what it calls public "alarmist rhetoric" concerning the present influenza outbreak, while its members vote on the possibility of impending walkouts in England next week.

BMA Response to Government Worries

This follows after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, expressed "deeply concerned" about the potential "one-two punch" of soaring counts of flu patients in hospitals and the approaching junior doctor strikes.

The head of the BMA's resident doctors' group, Dr Jack Fletcher, remarked that while the union was not "minimizing" the effect 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," a letter from the union noted.

Industrial Action Ballot and Possible Timeline

The outcome of a BMA ballot is expected on Monday. If it is rejected, a industrial action lasting five days will commence on Wednesday.

Ministers states its proposal includes legislation that prioritises British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to subsidize exam fees.

Yet, the deal does not include 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 Attention on a Deal

In a release, 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, saying that, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be required to return to work to "ensure safe patient care."

Government 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 questioned 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 "reckless" strikes "ought not to go ahead" while the NHS is facing its "most challenging moment since the pandemic."

Concerning the flu outbreak, experts 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 on record 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 rising numbers, the medical director for the NHS in London said the flu situation was "well within the boundaries" of what the NHS could manage and that hospitals were more ready for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic.

The union said it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be enough to call off Wednesday's strikes. If members agree, a second ballot would be held on resolving the dispute completely.