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The leading doctors' union has raised an alarm against what it calls widespread "scaremongering" regarding the present flu outbreak, while its members decide on the possibility of impending walkouts in England next week.

Union Reaction to Ministerial Concerns

This follows after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, expressed "extremely worried" about the looming "combined impact" of rising numbers of flu patients in hospitals and the forthcoming junior doctor strikes.

BMA resident doctors committee chair, Dr Jack Fletcher, said that while the union was not "minimizing" the effect 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 declared.

Industrial Action Ballot and Potential Timeline

The result of a union vote is expected on Monday. If the offer is turned down, a week-long walkout will start on Wednesday.

The government states its offer includes measures that prioritises British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to pay for exam fees.

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

Appeals for Focus on a Deal

In a announcement, the BMA called on 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 union has also contacted chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, recognizing that, should there be a strike, resident doctors may be required to return to work to "uphold safe patient care."

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

Regarding the flu outbreak, experts note it has come early this winter. An average of 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 only date back to 2021 and so do not include the two worst flu seasons of the past 15 years.

In spite of the increasing figures, 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 union stated it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be enough to avert Wednesday's strikes. Should members vote in favor, a second ballot would be held on ending the dispute entirely.