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The British Medical Association (BMA) has sounded a caution against what it calls public "alarmist rhetoric" about the current flu outbreak, while its members decide on whether to carry out planned strikes in England the coming week.

Union Response to Government Concerns

This statement arrives after the Health Minister, Wes Streeting, expressed "extremely worried" about the potential "one-two punch" of soaring counts of flu patients in hospitals and the approaching resident doctor strikes.

The head of the BMA's resident doctors' group, 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," a letter from the union noted.

Strike Vote and Potential Schedule

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

Ministers says its deal includes measures that prioritises British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to cover the costs professional development costs.

However, the deal excludes a wage hike. The Prime Minister has commented that pay for resident doctors has grown by 28.9% over the past three years.

Appeals for Focus on a Deal

In a statement, the BMA appealed to 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, indicating that, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be called in to work to "uphold safe patient care."

Government Reaction and Influenza Data

Speaking to media, Mr. Streeting said the present circumstances was "probably 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.

Mirroring the health secretary, the prime minister said the "irresponsible" strikes "should not happen" 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. Around 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.

It is important to note, 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 "under control" of what the NHS could handle and that hospitals were more ready for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic.

The BMA said it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be enough to call off Wednesday's strikes. If members vote in favor, a detailed vote would be held on resolving the dispute for good.