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

BMA Response to Government Concerns

This comes after the Health Minister, Wes Streeting, expressed "very anxious" about the looming "combined impact" of increasing figures of flu patients in hospitals and the forthcoming resident doctor strikes.

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

Strike Ballot and Possible Timeline

The result of a members' referendum is due on Monday. Should members vote no, a week-long walkout will start on Wednesday.

Ministers says its proposal includes legislation that gives preference to British medical graduates for training posts starting next year and offers to cover the costs training expenses.

But, the deal excludes a pay rise. Sir Keir Starmer has written that pay for resident doctors has increased by 28.9% over the past three years.

Appeals for Focus 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 written to chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, saying that, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be asked to come back to work to "uphold safe patient care."

Government Reaction and Flu Data

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 accepted an offer to push the strike back 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, health officials 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 greatest for this time of year since records began in 2021.

However, 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 rising numbers, the senior doctor for the NHS in London said the flu situation was "well within the boundaries" of what the NHS could handle and that hospitals were better prepared 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. Should members vote in favor, a detailed vote would be held on ending the dispute entirely.