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The British Medical Association (BMA) has raised an alarm against what it calls widespread "scaremongering" regarding the ongoing influenza outbreak, as its members decide on whether to carry out impending walkouts in England next week.

Union Reaction to Ministerial Concerns

This follows after the Health Minister, Wes Streeting, expressed "deeply concerned" about the looming "double whammy" of increasing figures of flu patients in hospitals and the forthcoming junior doctor strikes.

The head of the BMA's resident doctors' group, Dr Jack Fletcher, remarked 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," a letter from the union declared.

Industrial Action Vote and Possible Schedule

The decision of a union vote is expected on Monday. If the offer is turned down, a week-long walkout will begin on Wednesday.

Ministers states its proposal includes laws that gives preference to British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to subsidize exam fees.

But, the deal does not include a wage hike. The Prime Minister has written that pay for resident doctors has grown by 28.9% over the past three years.

Appeals for Focus on a Solution

In a release, the BMA appealed to 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 called in to work to "uphold safe patient care."

Government Response and Flu Statistics

In an interview with media, Mr. Streeting said the current situation was "probably 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.

Repeating the health secretary, the prime minister said the "reckless" strikes "ought not to go ahead" while the NHS is facing its "most vulnerable moment since the pandemic."

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

Despite 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 better prepared for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic.

The union said it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be sufficient to call off Wednesday's strikes. If members agree, a formal follow-up referendum would be held on ending the dispute for good.