There is zero reason for the NHS to deliver anything less than that equal to the best provided elsewhere; accepting that it is a social/moral responsibility choice to cover the whole population not just wealthy citizens. And since it seems to be done elsewhere then there is no reason it can not be funded properly here: and the NHS/government needs to examine what health related issues it is funding that other countries do not, and which makes the budget inadequate.
As for this particular dispute, I'm unsure what the core problem is. There has been mention of not being given money to cover for more weekend stuff, but that seems to be a minor/side gripe. There has been mention that it is the even more excessive hours being asked, and I can sympathise with that. Full time employment should be between, say, 35 and 45 hours a week. Any more and ability to do the job well is reduced, and the ability to have a decent social life outside of working hours more difficult. In which case there was a clear issue prior to any proposed changes. But it isn;t clear whether the changes make things worse. (Discussions on whether it gets cushier in later career is a separate issue, and does not really have an affect on this dispute.)
Whatever the real gripe is, escalating the situation by threatening to impose the contracts, seems unwise to me. In fact I think employers ought not be able to simply tear up past contracts and impose new ones. It makes the contract not worth the paper it is written on, at least for the employee. A one way legal binding. And there is rarely an imminent need to change overnight anyway. It's a case of management wanting to show on their CV that they made a changewhilst in the position; and beggar the poor *** who were adversely and sometimes unfairly affected.
But it is the way of the UK these days. Years of right wing chipping away at the right of the working classes to have a say in how they are treated; the many hoops one has to jump through in order to be even able to strike, one one real action they can take. The junior doctors should think themselves lucky they are able to protest, let alone strike. Those in high positions seem to think the workers should just do as they are told, as they are unimportant.
But as it stands the only way to fight this is mass sackings from refusing to comply and further strikes, or mass resignations; and the problem is that most would not have the courage to stand up for themselves that way, so those that do suffer as the rest comply and simply moan. Management know this and use it.
But I'd still like to know what is agreed to be the core issue change that's being complained about.