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The leading doctors' union has raised an alarm against what it calls public "alarmist rhetoric" regarding the current influenza outbreak, while its members decide on whether to carry out impending walkouts in England the coming week.

Union Reaction to Government Concerns

This follows after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, expressed "deeply concerned" about the potential "combined impact" of rising numbers of flu patients in hospitals and the upcoming resident doctor strikes.

The head of the BMA's resident doctors' group, Dr Jack Fletcher, said that while the union was not "diminishing" the severity of flu, Mr. Streeting "should not be 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," a letter from the union declared.

Strike Vote and Potential Timeline

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

Ministers argues its offer includes laws that prioritises British medical graduates for training posts starting next year and offers to pay for training expenses.

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

Calls for Attention on a Solution

In a statement, the BMA called on 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, should there be a strike, resident doctors may be required to return to work to "ensure safe patient care."

Government Reaction and Flu Data

In an interview with media, Mr. Streeting said the current situation was "perhaps the worst pressure the NHS has faced since Covid." He asked 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, 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 greatest 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.

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 manage and that hospitals were better prepared for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic.

The BMA said it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be sufficient to cancel Wednesday's strikes. Should members indicate yes, a second ballot would be held on resolving the dispute entirely.