🔗 Share this article

The British Medical Association (BMA) has sounded a caution against what it calls public "scaremongering" regarding the current flu outbreak, as its members decide on whether to carry out scheduled industrial action in England the coming week.

BMA Response to Government Worries

This follows after the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, expressed "very anxious" about the looming "one-two punch" of rising numbers 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 "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 stated.

Industrial Action Ballot and Possible Timeline

The decision of a union vote is scheduled for Monday. If it is rejected, a industrial action lasting five days will commence on Wednesday.

Ministers states its offer includes laws that gives preference to British medical graduates for training posts starting next year and offers to pay for exam fees.

But, the deal omits a pay rise. Sir Keir Starmer has written that pay for resident doctors has increased by 28.9% over the past three years.

Appeals for Focus on a Deal

In a announcement, the BMA appealed to 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 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 "maintain safe patient care."

Government Reaction and Influenza Statistics

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 push the strike back to January.

Mirroring 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. Around 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 include 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 "within manageable limits" of what the NHS could handle and that hospitals were better prepared for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic.

The BMA said it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be sufficient to avert Wednesday's strikes. Should members agree, a second ballot would be held on resolving the dispute entirely.