Think of a number and then half it.



That more or less summarises Labour's approach to cutting cancer waiting times.



They are all puffed up that their two week waiting policy is top of voters' agenda.



But Labour have a very poor record here. When they were last in charge of Scotland's NHS they promised to bring in a 62-day cancer treatment waiting time - but failed to do so in their entire time in office from 1999 to 2007.



What a difference a competent minister makes. Nicola Sturgeon met the 62 day target within a year of taking office. Then she went further, by bringing more patients into the target category. She then set a 31 day target which the NHS met a year ahead of schedule. She is now working towards the two week figure.



Labour's record on health is appalling and they just cannot be trusted with this or any other promise. For example:

When Labour ran the NHS... In March 2007 there were 32,000 outpatients waiting more than 12 weeks - under the SNP by 2011 this figure had fallen to 150.

When Labour ran the NHS...there were "hidden waiting lists". These were abolished by the SNP.

When Labour ran the NHS...it was impossible to find a dentist. The SNP opened a new dental school in Aberdeen to train more. Now 1 million more people have access to an NHS dentist.

When Labour ran the NHS...they wanted to close A&E units in Monklands and Ayr. The SNP kept them open along with other threatened local hospital services.

When Labour ran the NHS...it was being slowly privatised, with private firms building and owning hospitals under PFI. The SNP ended that scandal. They also ended Labour's other privatisation experiment by bringing Strathcathro hospital back into the NHS.

When Labour ran the NHS...prescription charges kept on rising even for the low paid with chronic conditions. The SNP has abolished prescription charges.

When Labour ran the NHS...superbugs were a serious problem. Since 2007 the SNP has cut the rate of the hospital acquired infections C. Diff and MRSA by 70%.

How was this achieved? By effective hands on management and a commitment to NHS founding principles. For example Sturgeon tripled the investment to tackle Hospital Acquired Infections and employed 1000 extra cleaners. She also established a tough inspectorate and maintained NHS spending in real terms. And she stopped health boards contracting out the work.

The SNP have promised to maintain health spending and plan to introduce an early detection system for cancer which could eventually save 300 lives a year. I have more faith in that promise than Labour's empty one. If they couldn't deliver before, why now? Is Gray's team vastly superior to that of Jack McConnell? I don't think anyone in Scotland believes that...