🔗 Share this article

The British Medical Association (BMA) has raised an alarm against what it calls public "scaremongering" concerning the ongoing flu outbreak, while its members vote on if they should proceed with planned strikes in England next week.

Union Reaction to Ministerial Worries

This comes after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, expressed "deeply concerned" about the potential "one-two punch" of increasing figures of flu patients in hospitals and the upcoming junior doctor strikes.

The head of the BMA's resident doctors' group, Dr Jack Fletcher, said that while the union was not "diminishing" the effect of flu, Mr. Streeting "should not 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 declared.

Industrial Action Ballot and Potential Timeline

The decision of a union vote is expected on Monday. Should members vote no, a industrial action lasting five days will begin on Wednesday.

The government says its proposal 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 does not include a wage hike. Sir Keir Starmer has commented that pay for resident doctors has risen by 28.9% over the past three years.

Calls for Focus on a Solution

In a announcement, the BMA called on 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 BMA has also written to 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."

Government Reaction and Flu Statistics

Speaking to media, Mr. Streeting said the present circumstances 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.

Mirroring 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, 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 greatest for this time of year since records began in 2021.

It is important to note, these records only date back to 2021 and so do not include the two worst flu seasons of the past 15 years.

Despite the increasing figures, the medical director 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 union stated it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be enough to call off Wednesday's strikes. Should members agree, a second ballot would be held on resolving the dispute for good.