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The leading doctors' union has sounded a caution against what it calls widespread "alarmist rhetoric" about the present flu outbreak, as its members vote on if they should proceed with scheduled industrial action in England the coming week.

Union Reaction to Ministerial Worries

This statement arrives 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.

BMA resident doctors committee chair, Dr Jack Fletcher, remarked 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 noted.

Industrial Action Vote and Possible Timeline

The outcome of a union vote is due on Monday. If it is rejected, a five-day strike will start on Wednesday.

Ministers argues its offer includes measures that gives preference to British medical graduates for training posts starting next year and offers to cover the costs exam fees.

But, the deal omits a wage hike. The Prime Minister has stated that pay for resident doctors has grown by 28.9% over the past three years.

Appeals for Attention on a Solution

In a release, the BMA urged the health secretary to "concentrate 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, 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 asked why the BMA hadn't taken up an offer to reschedule the industrial action to January.

Echoing the health secretary, the prime minister said the "irresponsible" 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. 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.

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 "within manageable limits" of what the NHS could cope with 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 sufficient to avert Wednesday's strikes. Should members vote in favor, a formal follow-up referendum would be held on resolving the dispute completely.