Medics have warned Rishi Sunak not to intervene over NHS pay as he prepares to announce sweeping health service reforms.
Ministers have sparked alarm by suggesting they could overrule the NHS pay review body (PRB) if they think its recommendations for a new offer are too high.
But unions say this will amount to nothing if doctors and nurses continue to leave in their droves.
Mr Sunak has said he is prepared to be unpopular on public service pay, hinting he is prepared to take a hard line.
BMA workforce lead, Dr Latifa Patel told The Mirror::“As ever, the Prime Minister’s musings on a much needed workforce plan for our crippled NHS, are heavy on sugar coating grand ideas, but light on how he plans to fix the immediate crisis.
“Yes, we need more doctors and more places for them to be trained, but right now, he also needs to explain how he intends to keep the doctors we have.”
Dr Patel warned that many medics are choosing to move abroad, where they feel more valued.
Last week the BMA announced that junior doctors in England will strike for five days from July 13 in the long-running dispute over pay and working conditions..
Dr Patel said: “Countries across the world are taking advantage of doctors here being underpaid, overworked and a neglectful Government doing nothing, as they are tempted to work abroad.
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“ It beggars’ belief that the Government cannot see how incomprehensible it is to ignore the immediate issue of doctors and healthcare staff leaving the NHS now.
"There will be no point in the UK investing in training more doctors and those doctors leaving medical school tens of thousands of pounds in debt, if they then don’t want to work in the NHS because of ever worsening pay and conditions, leaving us facing the same staffing crisis or worse.”
And Unison head of health Sara Gorton told The Mirror: “The long-awaited workforce plan will be meaningless if it doesn’t include a proper strategy to fix pay.
“Threats to block recommended wage rises for other key workers will also do nothing to improve morale or solve the ongoing staffing emergency across the NHS.”
It has been hinted that ministers will overrule PRBs if they think proposed pay rises are too steep - a move which would cause widespread anger after months of deadlock.
The PM said he has to make "difficult decisions" as part of his plan to curb high inflation - which the Government claims could be make worse by wage increases.
Unions have expressed outrage over reports that ministers are likely to take the rare step of rejecting some recommendations of the independent pay review bodies.
Mr Sunak told the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: "When it comes to public sector pay I'm going to do what I think is affordable, what I think is responsible.
"Now that may not always be popular in the short term, but it's the right thing for the country."
Unison assistant general secretary Jon Richards said: "The Covid inquiry is hearing how investment-starved public services with too few staff were ill prepared for the pandemic.
"Pay is key to turning around the staffing emergency. And reckless talk like this will prompt even more essential workers to quit for pastures new.
"This is an out-of-touch, out-of-ideas government.
"The case for an early general election grows stronger by the day."
The Prime Minister is expected to unveil the long-awaited NHS workforce plan this week.
The Government is expected to announce a doubling of medical school places for doctors, with a pledge to train tens of thousands of new nurses and midwives, more trainee GPs and dentists.
Mr Sunak said on Sunday the plans would reduce "reliance on foreign-trained healthcare professionals".
Labour has said it would order pay review bodies to reflect concerns about recruitment and retention of staff.
Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: "Rishi Sunak is living in a parallel universe.
"Those of us who rely on the NHS can see it's in the biggest crisis in its history."
And Shadow Communities Secretary Lisa Nandy told Sky: "If we were in government right now we would be asking the pay review bodies to give far more weight to the retention and recruitment crisis in the recommendations that we make.
"We'd take seriously their recommendations but we wouldn't be bound by them."
