The British Medical Association (BMA) has issued a warning against what it calls widespread "fearmongering" regarding the current influenza outbreak, as its members consider if they should proceed with planned strikes in England next week.
BMA Response to Ministerial Worries
This statement arrives after the Health Minister, Wes Streeting, expressed "deeply concerned" about the potential "double whammy" 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, remarked that while the union was not "minimizing" the severity of flu, Mr. Streeting "ought not to 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.
Strike Vote and Possible Schedule
The result of a members' referendum is due on Monday. If the offer is turned down, a five-day strike will begin on Wednesday.
The government states its proposal includes measures that gives preference to British medical graduates for training posts starting next year and offers to pay for professional development costs.
Yet, the deal omits a salary increase. The Prime Minister has stated that pay for resident doctors has risen by 28.9% over the past three years.
Appeals for Attention on a Deal
In a release, the BMA urged 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 BMA has also contacted chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, saying that, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be required to return to work to "maintain safe patient care."
Government Response and Influenza Statistics
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 taken up an offer to reschedule the industrial action to January.
Repeating the health secretary, the prime minister said the "irresponsible" 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. Around 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.
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 increasing figures, the senior doctor for the NHS in London said the flu situation was "under control" of what the NHS could handle and that hospitals were better prepared for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic.
The union said it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be enough to cancel Wednesday's strikes. Should members agree, a formal follow-up referendum would be held on ending the dispute entirely.
