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The leading doctors' union has issued a warning against what it calls widespread "alarmist rhetoric" about the present influenza outbreak, while its members vote on whether to carry out impending walkouts in England next week.

BMA Reaction to Government Worries

This follows after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, expressed "very anxious" about the looming "double whammy" of rising numbers of flu patients in hospitals and the forthcoming resident doctor strikes.

The head of the BMA's resident doctors' group, Dr Jack Fletcher, stated that while the union was not "minimizing" 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."

"As doctors, we at the BMA wish to ensure that patients remain safe," a letter from the union stated.

Industrial Action Vote and Possible Schedule

The decision of a union vote is scheduled for Monday. If it is rejected, a five-day strike 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.

However, the deal excludes a wage hike. Sir Keir Starmer has commented that pay for resident doctors has increased by 28.9% over the past three years.

Appeals for Attention 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 BMA has also notified 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 "maintain 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 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 precarious moment since the pandemic."

Regarding the flu outbreak, health officials note it has come early this winter. Approximately 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 "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 stated it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be enough to cancel Wednesday's strikes. Should members vote in favor, a second ballot would be held on ending the dispute completely.