BMA warns of flu 'scaremongering' ahead of doctor strikes

The British Medical Association (BMA) has warned against public scaremongering over the latest flu epidemic as its members decide whether or not to carry out planned strikes in England next week. It comes after Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he was extremely worried about the double whammy of increasing numbers of flu patients in hospitals and impending resident doctor strikes. Dr. Jack Fletcher, the BMA's resident doctors committee chair, said that although the union was not diminishing flu, the public should not be scared into thinking that the NHS will not be able to look after them. "The results of a BMA poll will be announced on Monday. If the petition is turned down, a five-day strike will begin on Wednesday.

According to the government, a deal that prioritizes British medical graduates for specialization training jobs beginning next year and provides funding for education expenses such as exam fees. A wage increase is not included in the contract. Sir Keir reported that the fee for resident doctors, the new term for junior doctors, has increased by 28 percent, according to a writer in the Guardian. 9% over the past three years. The BMA advised health secretary in a tweet released on Saturday morning that rather than making allegations that strike action would cause the NHS to collapse, the health secretary should

concentrate his time and attention on a deal that will prevent next week's strikes.

The BMA has written to chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, saying that if there is a strike, resident doctors will be required to return to work to maintain safe patient care.We, physicians, we at the BMA want to ensure that patients remain healthy,

the letter, written by BMA council chair Dr. Tom Dolphin, says. Streeting said the current situation was

probably the worst pressure the NHS has faced since Covid,

when speaking to LBC earlier this week. He wondered why the BMA hadn't taken up his offer of pushing the strike back to January

if they wanted to just give me a kicking.

I can only imagine that the reason they refuse to do it is because they know that this week will be the most difficult for the NHS,

he said. The prime minister said the reckless strikes should not happen while the NHS is facing its most difficult time since the pandemic, echoing the health minister. Sir Keir Starmer wrote in the Guardian on Friday that the BMA had been sent a new bid as well as a possibility to reschedule the strikes until after Christmas.

Don't get me wrong; of course, I would prefer that they were cancelled.

Under the circumstances, I wanted to be sure we had left no stone unturned in our attempts to safeguard the NHS," he said. The BMA said it would ask its members if the government's offer would be sufficient to put off Wednesday's strikes. If members vote yes, they will have time to consider the proposal in greater detail, and a formal follow-up referendum on ending the conflict will be held on ending completely.

Flu has arrived early this winter, according to some experts, and it looks to be a particularly bad season due to a new mutated version of the virus that is still in circulation. Many are referring to it as super flu, but it is not more prevalent nor difficult to handle. Last week, an average of 2,660 patients per day in hospital with flu in England – the highest for this time of the year since records began in 2021 and up 55% on the week before, according to NHS England. It's important to note that the data go back to 2021, and that they do not represent the two worst flu seasons in the last 15 years, which were recorded in 2014-15 and 2017-18. According to statistics, flu cases in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are also on the rise. However, Chris Streather, the NHS' medical director, said the flu outbreak 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. According to him, speculation is unlikely to be helpful and could cause people to be concerned.