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The leading doctors' union has raised an alarm against what it calls widespread "alarmist rhetoric" about the current influenza outbreak, as its members vote on if they should proceed with scheduled industrial action in England the coming week.

Union Response to Ministerial Concerns

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

The head of the BMA's resident doctors' group, Dr Jack Fletcher, said that while the union was not "downplaying" 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."

"In our role as physicians, we at the BMA wish to ensure that patients remain safe," correspondence from the union declared.

Industrial Action Vote and Potential Timeline

The outcome of a members' referendum is due on Monday. If the offer is turned down, a week-long walkout will commence on Wednesday.

The government argues its offer includes legislation that prioritises British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to cover the costs training expenses.

However, the deal excludes a wage hike. Sir Keir Starmer 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 statement, the BMA called on 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, indicating that, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be asked to come back to work to "ensure safe patient care."

Political Response and Flu Data

Speaking to media, Mr. Streeting said the current situation was "probably the worst pressure the NHS has faced since Covid." He questioned 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 precarious moment since the pandemic."

Concerning the flu outbreak, experts note it has come early this winter. Approximately 2,660 patients per day were in hospital with flu in England last week – the highest for this time of year on record 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 medical director for the NHS in London said the flu situation was "under control" of what the NHS could cope with and that hospitals were better prepared 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 call off Wednesday's strikes. If members vote in favor, a formal follow-up referendum would be held on resolving the dispute entirely.