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The leading doctors' union has issued a warning against what it calls public "alarmist rhetoric" about the present influenza outbreak, while its members consider if they should proceed with impending walkouts in England the coming week.

Union Reaction to Ministerial Worries

This statement arrives after the Health Minister, Wes Streeting, expressed "extremely worried" about the looming "combined impact" of soaring counts of flu patients in hospitals and the upcoming resident doctor strikes.

BMA resident doctors committee chair, Dr Jack Fletcher, stated that while the union was not "minimizing" 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."

"As doctors, we at the BMA wish to ensure that patients remain safe," correspondence from the union noted.

Industrial Action Vote and Possible Schedule

The decision of a BMA ballot is expected on Monday. If it is rejected, a five-day strike will commence on Wednesday.

Ministers states its offer includes measures that prioritises 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 risen by 28.9% over the past three years.

Appeals for Focus 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 union has also contacted chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, recognizing that, should there be a strike, resident doctors may be required to return to work to "uphold safe patient care."

Government Reaction and Flu Data

In an interview with media, Mr. Streeting said the present circumstances was "probably the worst pressure the NHS has faced since Covid." He questioned why the BMA hadn't accepted an offer to reschedule the industrial action to January.

Mirroring the health secretary, the prime minister said the "irresponsible" strikes "ought not to go ahead" 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. Around 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.

However, these records only date back to 2021 and so do not capture the two worst flu seasons of the past 15 years.

In spite of the increasing figures, the medical director 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 indicated it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be enough to call off Wednesday's strikes. If members vote in favor, a second ballot would be held on ending the dispute completely.