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The leading doctors' union has issued a warning against what it calls public "alarmist rhetoric" regarding the current influenza outbreak, while its members consider whether to carry out planned strikes in England next week.

Union Response to Government Worries

This comes after the Health Minister, Wes Streeting, expressed "deeply concerned" about the potential "combined impact" of rising numbers of flu patients in hospitals and the approaching junior doctor strikes.

BMA resident doctors committee chair, Dr Jack Fletcher, remarked that while the union was not "downplaying" 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," a letter from the union stated.

Strike Ballot and Possible Timeline

The outcome of a union vote is due on Monday. If the offer is turned down, a industrial action lasting five days will commence on Wednesday.

Ministers says its deal includes legislation that gives preference to British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to pay for training expenses.

Yet, the deal does not include a salary increase. The Prime Minister has commented that pay for resident doctors has grown by 28.9% over the past three years.

Calls for Focus 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 BMA has also notified chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, recognizing that, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be called in to work to "ensure safe patient care."

Political Response and Flu Statistics

Speaking to media, Mr. Streeting said the present circumstances was "perhaps the worst pressure the NHS has faced since Covid." He asked why the BMA hadn't accepted an offer to push the strike back to January.

Repeating the health secretary, the prime minister said the "reckless" strikes "should not happen" while the NHS is facing its "most vulnerable moment since the pandemic."

Concerning 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.

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 rising numbers, the senior doctor for the NHS in London said the flu situation was "under control" of what the NHS could cope with and that hospitals were more ready for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic.

The BMA stated it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be enough to cancel Wednesday's strikes. Should members agree, a second ballot would be held on ending the dispute for good.