🔗 Share this article

The leading doctors' union has raised an alarm against what it calls widespread "alarmist rhetoric" about the ongoing flu outbreak, while its members vote on whether to carry out impending walkouts in England next week.

Union Response to Ministerial Concerns

This statement arrives after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, expressed "very anxious" about the potential "one-two punch" of soaring counts of flu patients in hospitals and the forthcoming resident doctor strikes.

The head of the BMA's resident doctors' group, Dr Jack Fletcher, said that while the union was not "downplaying" the severity of flu, Mr. Streeting "ought not to 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 Potential Timeline

The decision of a members' referendum is scheduled for Monday. Should members vote no, a week-long walkout will commence on Wednesday.

Ministers states its proposal includes laws that gives preference to British medical graduates for training posts starting next year and offers to subsidize professional development costs.

However, the deal omits a salary increase. Sir Keir Starmer has stated that pay for resident doctors has risen by 28.9% over the past three years.

Appeals for Attention on a Solution

In a release, the BMA urged 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 BMA has also written to chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, indicating that, should there be a strike, resident doctors may be asked to come back to work to "ensure safe patient care."

Political Response and Influenza 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 reschedule the industrial action to January.

Mirroring the health secretary, the prime minister said the "reckless" strikes "should not happen" while the NHS is facing its "most challenging moment since the pandemic."

Regarding the flu outbreak, experts note it has arrived sooner than usual 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.

Despite the rising numbers, the senior doctor for the NHS in London said the flu situation was "under control" of what the NHS could handle 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 enough to call off Wednesday's strikes. If members indicate yes, a second ballot would be held on resolving the dispute entirely.