🔗 Share this article BMA Cautions Against Influenza 'Scaremongering' Prior to Impending Physician Industrial Action The British Medical Association (BMA) has sounded a caution against what it calls public "alarmist rhetoric" about the current flu outbreak, while its members consider whether to carry out scheduled industrial action in England the coming week. Union Response to Government Worries This comes after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, expressed "deeply concerned" about the potential "double whammy" of increasing figures of flu patients in hospitals and the forthcoming 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 "must avoid 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 stated. Strike Vote and Possible Schedule The outcome of a union vote is scheduled for Monday. If it is rejected, a five-day strike will start on Wednesday. The government states its deal includes laws that gives preference to British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to cover the costs training expenses. But, the deal excludes a salary increase. The Prime Minister has stated that pay for resident doctors has grown by 28.9% over the past three years. Appeals for Attention on a Deal In a release, the BMA urged 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 BMA has also contacted chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, saying that, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be asked to come back to work to "ensure safe patient care." Political Reaction and Influenza Statistics Speaking to media, Mr. Streeting said the present circumstances was "probably 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 "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 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. However, these records start from 2021 and so do not capture 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 "under control" of what the NHS could cope with and that hospitals were more ready for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic. The BMA stated it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be sufficient to avert Wednesday's strikes. Should members indicate yes, a formal follow-up referendum would be held on resolving the dispute for good.