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The leading doctors' union has raised an alarm against what it calls public "alarmist rhetoric" concerning the present flu outbreak, as its members vote on whether to carry out impending walkouts in England the coming week.

Union Response to Ministerial Concerns

This follows after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, expressed "deeply concerned" about the potential "double whammy" of soaring counts of flu patients in hospitals and the forthcoming resident doctor strikes.

BMA resident doctors committee chair, Dr Jack Fletcher, stated that while the union was not "minimizing" the effect of flu, Mr. Streeting "must avoid 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 noted.

Strike Ballot and Possible Schedule

The outcome of a BMA ballot is scheduled for Monday. If the offer is turned down, a week-long walkout will begin on Wednesday.

The government says its proposal includes measures that prioritises British medical graduates for training posts starting next year and offers to subsidize training expenses.

However, 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 Attention on a Deal

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

Political 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 asked why the BMA hadn't accepted an offer to push the strike back to January.

Echoing 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 arrived sooner than usual this winter. Approximately 2,660 patients per day were in hospital with flu in England last week – the greatest for this time of year on record in 2021.

However, these records start from 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 "under control" of what the NHS could handle 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. If members vote in favor, a detailed vote would be held on ending the dispute completely.