🔗 Share this article

The British Medical Association (BMA) has issued a warning against what it calls public "alarmist rhetoric" regarding the current influenza outbreak, as its members consider the possibility of impending walkouts in England the coming week.

BMA Reaction to Government Concerns

This statement arrives after the Health Minister, Wes Streeting, expressed "deeply concerned" about the looming "combined impact" 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 "diminishing" 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."

"In our role as physicians, we at the BMA wish to ensure that patients remain safe," correspondence from the union noted.

Strike Ballot and Potential Timeline

The result of a members' referendum is due on Monday. Should members vote no, a five-day strike will commence on Wednesday.

The government argues its offer includes legislation that gives preference to British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to cover the costs exam fees.

However, the deal does not include a wage hike. The Prime Minister has written that pay for resident doctors has risen by 28.9% over the past three years.

Calls for Attention 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 union has also notified chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, saying that, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be called in to work to "ensure safe patient care."

Government Response and Flu Statistics

Speaking to media, Mr. Streeting said the present circumstances was "perhaps the worst pressure the NHS has faced since Covid." He asked why the BMA hadn't taken up an offer to reschedule the industrial action to January.

Echoing the health secretary, the prime minister said the "irresponsible" strikes "should not happen" while the NHS is facing its "most precarious moment since the pandemic."

Regarding the flu outbreak, health officials 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 highest for this time of year since records began in 2021.

It is important to note, these records start from 2021 and so do not include 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 "well within the boundaries" of what the NHS could cope with and that hospitals were better prepared for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic.

The BMA indicated it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be enough to call off Wednesday's strikes. If members vote in favor, a formal follow-up referendum would be held on ending the dispute completely.