🔗 Share this article

The British Medical Association (BMA) has sounded a caution against what it calls public "fearmongering" concerning the ongoing influenza outbreak, while its members decide on whether to carry out planned strikes in England next week.

Union Response to Ministerial Worries

This follows after the Health Minister, Wes Streeting, stated he was "extremely worried" about the potential "one-two punch" of increasing figures of flu patients in hospitals and the forthcoming resident doctor strikes.

BMA resident doctors committee chair, Dr Jack Fletcher, said that while the union was not "minimizing" the severity of flu, Mr. Streeting "should not 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," a letter from the union noted.

Strike Ballot and Possible Schedule

The outcome of a BMA ballot is expected on Monday. If it is rejected, a five-day strike will start on Wednesday.

Ministers states its offer includes laws that prioritises British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to pay for training expenses.

However, the deal excludes a wage hike. Sir Keir Starmer has stated that pay for resident doctors has grown by 28.9% over the past three years.

Calls for Focus on a Deal

In a release, the BMA appealed to 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 notified chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, saying that, should there be a strike, resident doctors may be asked to come back to work to "uphold safe patient care."

Political 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 asked why the BMA hadn't accepted an offer to reschedule the industrial action to January.

Echoing 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."

Regarding 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 capture 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 manage and that hospitals were better prepared for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic.

The union indicated it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be sufficient to call off Wednesday's strikes. Should members vote in favor, a formal follow-up referendum would be held on resolving the dispute entirely.