Nicola Sturgeon is to appeal to voters to trust her to deliver on the NHS today, as she sets out her stall for next year's Scottish Parliament election.

Her stock is high, and not only among supporters at the SNPs Annual conference in Aberdeen. Yet the first minister must rely on more than simply her remarkable personal political capital.

She will announce new plans for the NHS, to prepare the health service for an ageing population and improve the pressure on hospitals. These are important areas, undoubtedly, but ones which the Scottish Government has already had plenty of time to address.

Integration of health and social care is supposed to be equipping Scotland for a rise in the number of over 70s, but still has to prove itself. Caring for people in the community is still often hampered by a shortage of resources. Too many elderly patients still spend too long in hospitals when they should be elsewhere, leading to missed targets on delayed discharge (bed-blocking).

Nevertheless, Ms Sturgeon says her party's record in Government is good. Her proposals include expanding the Golden Jubilee hospital at Clydebank to provide more routine operations and relive pressure on emergency hospitals. This and opening new specialist centres around the country are sensible and welcome, but voters will want to know how such initiatives are to be paid for, at a time of pressure on NHS budgets and the wider public finances.

Voters will also require much more detail in the months of campaigning ahead about how the government will address other areas in which its policies have been less successful. Pupil literacy, the turmoil in further education and the ongoing tribulations at Police Scotland are among them.

Ms Sturgeon and her colleagues will also have to set out exactly how they propose to make use of new powers being granted to Holyrood.

The same applies to rival parties, of course, particularly Labour, which is hoping for resurgence in Scotland but is likely to face attacks over its divisions and new UK leadership.

A focus on policies from all sides is desirable. In this context Ms Sturgeon's emphasis on issues of government and downplaying of the likelihood of an early second independence referendum is a very good sign.