Hospitals in England are braced for the third strike by junior doctors in their contract dispute with the government.
The walkout gets under way at 08:00 GMT and lasts 48 hours – the longest one so far – but medics will once again provide emergency cover.
It comes after ministers announced last month they would impose the contract.
More than 5,000 treatments have had to be postponed, but polling released on the eve of the stoppage shows public support for doctors is holding firm.
The poll of 860 adults by Ipsos MORI for the BBC showed 65% supported doctors going on strike – almost the same proportion as backed them ahead of the walkout last month. Some 17% said they were against the strike, a drop from 22% on last time.
The poll did show an increase in the proportion of people blaming both sides for the dispute. That now stands at 28%, up from 18%. The majority – 57% – still blame the government.
The strike comes as Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt is hosting an international patient safety meeting in London, which was planned before the strike was announced, reports the BBC.
NHS bosses warned the strike was going to be “difficult” for the health service as the series of walkouts was beginning to take its toll – 19,000 treatments have been postponed in total because of the three strikes this year.
The treatments that are being hit are all non-emergency procedures, including routine operations such as hip and knee replacements.
Thousands of check-ups, appointments and tests have also been affected as well.
