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The leading doctors' union has raised an alarm against what it calls widespread "fearmongering" regarding the current influenza outbreak, while its members decide on the possibility of scheduled industrial action in England the coming week.

Union Reaction to Ministerial Concerns

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

BMA resident doctors committee chair, Dr Jack Fletcher, said that while the union was not "minimizing" 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," a letter from the union noted.

Industrial Action Ballot and Potential Timeline

The decision of a BMA ballot is expected on Monday. If it is rejected, a industrial action lasting five days will start on Wednesday.

The government argues its proposal includes legislation that gives preference to British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to pay for exam fees.

Yet, the deal does not include a pay rise. Sir Keir Starmer has commented 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 "concentrate 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, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be asked to come back to work to "uphold safe patient care."

Government 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 "ought not to go ahead" while the NHS is facing its "most challenging moment since the pandemic."

Regarding the flu outbreak, health officials 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 highest for this time of year on record 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 senior doctor for the NHS in London said the flu situation was "under control" of what the NHS could manage and that hospitals were more ready for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic.

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