This week I look forward to welcoming the Hospitalwatch campaign team to Edinburgh as they bring the fight for the Vale of Leven Hospital to the Scottish Parliament.

The recent 24-hour vigil outside the hospital was a huge success which brought together patients, NHS staff and local residents from across Dumbarton and the Vale of Leven.

Around 5,000 people who attended the demonstration added their signatures to a giant bedsheet which the campaign team plans to bring to Edinburgh on Thursday to present to the Scottish Government.

The meeting will give the Health Secretary and MSPs from all parties the opportunity to hear first-hand from local campaigners about the need to protect our local hospital services.

The past year has seen the future of key local services at the Vale of Leven Hospital thrown into doubt by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Whether it is maternity, GP out of hours or pharmacy services, the health board has launched review after review but the final decisions on cuts will not be taken until after the elections.

This may well be the only opportunity for local campaigners to make the case directly for stopping the cuts.

Local GPs have also added their voices to the chorus of local concerns about the centralisation of Out of Hours services.

The health board is looking at plans to close the service midweek at the Vale of Leven Hospital due to staff shortages in our NHS.

This means that local patients could be forced to choose between travelling to Paisley in the evening to see a doctor or waiting until their local practice reopens the next day.

The provision of GP Out of Hours services was a key plank of the Vision for the Vale agreement between the Scottish Government and the health board in 2009.

I have managed to secure a debate in Parliament today to hold the Scottish Government to account on these promises

These services are delivered locally for a reason.

It a basic primary care service which ensures that local people have access to a GP in the evenings and weekends in an emergency.

Transferring the service to the RAH in Paisley would only increase pressure on other areas of our health service, including A&E and local GP practices.

The health board should immediately drop the review and take the threat to our local services off the table.