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The leading doctors' union has issued a warning against what it calls public "scaremongering" concerning the current influenza outbreak, as its members vote on the possibility of scheduled industrial action in England the coming week.

BMA Reaction to Government Concerns

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

The head of the BMA's resident doctors' group, Dr Jack Fletcher, stated that while the union was not "minimizing" the effect of flu, Mr. Streeting "ought not to 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 stated.

Industrial Action Vote and Possible Timeline

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

The government states its offer includes legislation that gives preference to British medical graduates for training posts starting next year and offers to cover the costs exam fees.

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

Appeals for Attention on a Deal

In a release, the BMA urged 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 union has also written to chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, saying that, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be required to return to work to "uphold safe patient care."

Political Reaction and Flu Statistics

Speaking to media, Mr. Streeting said the current situation was "perhaps the worst pressure the NHS has faced since Covid." He questioned why the BMA hadn't accepted an offer to push the strike back 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 precarious moment since the pandemic."

Regarding 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 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 "well within the boundaries" of what the NHS could manage and that hospitals were more ready for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic.

The union stated it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be enough to avert Wednesday's strikes. If members vote in favor, a formal follow-up referendum would be held on ending the dispute entirely.