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The leading doctors' union has issued a warning against what it calls public "scaremongering" concerning the ongoing influenza outbreak, as its members decide on if they should proceed with planned strikes in England the coming week.

Union Response to Government Concerns

This follows after the Health Minister, Wes Streeting, expressed "extremely worried" about the potential "double whammy" of increasing figures of flu patients in hospitals and the approaching resident doctor strikes.

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

Strike Vote and Potential Timeline

The decision of a BMA ballot is scheduled for Monday. If the offer is turned down, a five-day strike will begin on Wednesday.

Ministers argues its proposal includes measures that gives preference to British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to subsidize 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.

Calls for Attention on a Deal

In a announcement, the BMA urged 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, saying that, should there be a strike, resident doctors may be called in to work to "ensure safe patient care."

Government Reaction 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 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 challenging moment since the pandemic."

Concerning the flu outbreak, experts note it has arrived sooner than usual 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 start from 2021 and so do not include the two worst flu seasons of the past 15 years.

Despite 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 cope with and that hospitals were better prepared for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic.

The BMA indicated it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be enough to avert Wednesday's strikes. Should members indicate yes, a detailed vote would be held on resolving the dispute completely.