Locally, the staff at the RAH in Paisley, where both my sons were born, have been under particular pressure. They deserve our support as they do all they can to cope. I say that recognising that some will have had operations postponed or cancelled or will have waited far longer than ever they should at A&E.

The easiest thing is for opposition politicians to stand shouting at the government of the day. It’s easy and it’s pointless. And it totally misses the point. We have all talked about the ageing population but it’s not just a talking point. We have all talked about the huge increase in hospital admissions from avoidable conditions such as obesity, but it’s not just a talking point.

Health service spending is up in England and Scotland. Indeed, extra spending by the coalition in England has led to £1.5bn of extra health funding in Scotland since 2010 from the ‘consequentials’ that arise as a result. There are more doctors and more nurses. More patients are being treated. But the reality is our NHS is struggling to overcome various challenges. 15 years ago when the Scottish Parliament was established, dementia, mental health and obesity were hardly mentioned. Yet in the 15 years since they have grown to become three of the most financially and personnel resource consuming issues.

In addition, primary care - our GPs, is also under strain as both the patients and the GPs themselves age. If we don’t invest in premises and succeed in recruiting a new generation of GPs there will be an even deeper crisis looming in the next decade.

I am not alone in thinking that if we are to succeed at all and ensure our NHS is placed on a sustainable footing we need to stop playing football with the NHS. Politicians have to rise above the ya boo approach of pretending that if only they were in charge all would be well. They must recognise that only by having the political courage to work together will we have the confidence to take the difficult strategic decisions necessary to secure the future of Scotland’s NHS.

I’ve heard Hugh Henry MSP say much the same and I admire him for it. However, it seems that Jim Murphy’s approach as Scottish Labour leader involves turning the clock back to the point scoring Westminster way of old.

It’s all about rabbits out of hats like the very odd proposal earlier this month to tax people living in London to pay for more Scottish nurses when Scotland’s health service has been devolved for a generation. Well a year ago Scottish Conservatives made clear we would pay for an extra 1000 nurses and fund that in Scotland by taking the touch decision to ask those who can afford to pay for prescriptions to do so. People like me and Jim Murphy for example.

That in itself will not secure the future of the NHS in Scotland. It requires courage and statesmanship and a party in government in Scotland which is prepared to work with others and map out a future which is properly structured and funded. Sadly it looks as though Labour under Mr Murphy do not want to be that Party. Scottish Conservatives do and are prepared to work with any other Party that does.

I don’t think the public is any longer fooled. We all want a publicly funded NHS, free at the point of need and delivery. However, everyone can see for themselves the challenges. Believing that one political party has all the answers is fool’s gold.

If it were true then somewhere in the UK we would have an NHS under no pressure at all, for as I noted at the start of this article every political party is in charge somewhere. Better still if the public disown those who exploit the NHS politically to win a few votes and demand that all parties work together. That might just work.