I do think all consultants should be on the 'on call rota' in the same way as anyone's else that is part of a team should be.
They get paid handsomely and a proportion of them are on the private register as well so are not short of a bob or two. Maybe that is why they have managed to not have it in their contracts? Private works gets in the way! However as long as they keep up their numbers of operational skill set technically they are fine.
The NHS, Government or whoever it is that is bleating on about safe working practices over the weekend can't have it both ways.
Either the NHS is safe for all users 24/7 or there are gaps in care because of out of hours shortages. Health keeps to no ones timetable and if there are fewer staff (of any skill) at particular times then that has to be addressed.
There are positions that are not essential for out of hours work. Admin, office staff and probably some others that I don't know about but the function of a hospital doesn't end at 5pm on Friday afternoon.
My question to start would be, If you cut all overtime and had everyone work only their allotted hours (spread over 24/7) how many more staff would it need for there to be 24/7 care?
For my money overtime should be the exception and not the rule.