Because of the change of leadership in the Labour Party I have now found myself on two committees.

I was on the Petitions Committee before which is very interesting because it deals with a wide range of issues.

Now I also find myself on the Health and Sport Committee as well.

I am really looking forward to the challenge of this committee, I have always been interested in health and especially how we deliver health in rural areas.

This week I got the opportunity to ask a question on Cancer care in the Highlands.

At the last NHS Highland meeting the length of waiting lists for cancer care in the Highlands had been flagged up as a real issue.

Our patients were waiting for longer than other parts of Scotland.

This was a real concern.

I asked the Minister if the situation had improved and, while she said that the figures would be published soon, she appeared upbeat.

I was also pleased that she acknowledged that NHS Highland would need more support as a small centre.

With only a small team of staff covering leave for holidays and training often skews the waiting time figures.

I would argue though that it is outcome that really matters and this is now being taken account of when looking at performance.

In rural areas we also need to look at the services we can deliver locally.

People who are getting chemotherapy can have this locally without having to travel to a cancer centre and this is very important.

When I was last in the Parliament I campaigned hard for a Dialysis Unit in Caithness General and I’m delighted that this is now up and running.

We need to keep looking at the services we can deliver locally and it is something I will use my time on the Health Committee to promote.

To do this I would be interested in hearing from people to have to travel to Inverness for regular treatment or who have had to travel for treatment that appeared like it could have been done locally.

Some treatments are complex and mean that you need to travel to specialist centres, for example I would want to travel some distance for heart surgery, to a centre where I knew people had a large amount of experience in dealing with the problem, but when the treatment appears routine or could be delivered with some additional training we should try to deliver this as locally as possible.

This week has seen changes for me as a Labour MSP.

A few weeks ago Jack McConnell resigned as our leader in the parliament and I was quite concerned about this change because Jack had always been a good friend to the Highlands and Islands.

He was brought up on Arran and understood many of the issues we faced.

I am glad that Wendy Alexander has now been elected our leader because she has an understanding of the issues we face and has good connections with part our of area in Argyll.

I am sure she will be a good leader and make a big contribution to the work we are trying to carry out.

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