Rural Citizens' Rights to Accessible Health Services: An Exploration

Rural citizens protest about changes in their model of local health services provision, appealing to a concept of social justice for equivalence of accessibility to services. This article explores the areas where citizens perceive deficits in social justice regarding services and the extent to which their appeals might have support in law and government guidance. The article explores how asymmetric philosophies of resource allocation and interpretations of inclusion in decision-making process may underlie protest and concludes that, while policy rhetoric ignores constraints on citizen roles and choices in service design, protest will continue, as it is a manifestation of rural citizens' frustration.