🔗 Share this article

The leading doctors' union has issued a warning against what it calls widespread "scaremongering" about the current flu outbreak, while its members consider the possibility of scheduled industrial action in England the coming week.

Union Reaction to Ministerial Concerns

This follows after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, expressed "very anxious" about the looming "double whammy" of rising numbers of flu patients in hospitals and the approaching resident doctor strikes.

The head of the BMA's resident doctors' group, Dr Jack Fletcher, stated that while the union was not "downplaying" 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," a letter from the union noted.

Industrial Action Vote and Potential Schedule

The outcome of a members' referendum is due on Monday. If the offer is turned down, a five-day strike will commence 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 cover the costs professional development costs.

Yet, the deal omits a pay rise. Sir Keir Starmer has commented 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 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, indicating that, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be required to return to work to "uphold safe patient care."

Government Reaction and Flu Data

Speaking to media, Mr. Streeting said the current situation was "perhaps the worst pressure the NHS has faced since Covid." He asked why the BMA hadn't accepted an offer to push the strike back to January.

Echoing the health secretary, the prime minister said the "reckless" strikes "ought not to go ahead" while the NHS is facing its "most vulnerable moment since the pandemic."

Regarding the flu outbreak, experts note it has come early 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 on record 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 senior doctor for the NHS in London said the flu situation was "within manageable limits" of what the NHS could manage and that hospitals were better prepared 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 avert Wednesday's strikes. If members agree, a second ballot would be held on ending the dispute entirely.