On Tuesday of this week I met with members of the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatry (podiatry is simply the way they refer to chiropody beyond the UK; it is all about the care of feet, dealing with ingrowing toenails, that kind of thing).

The purpose of the meeting was to point out to me the difficulty that a new law is giving chiropodists - a law that obliges them to sterilise their instruments as thoroughly as dentists now have to. Apparently, and rather astonishingly, one reason the law applies to chiropodists is in order to prevent the onward transmission of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (variant CJD), often referred to mad cow disease, in humans.

Could this really be right? My guest assured me that was so. But surely, thinking back to when we had the CJD scare, you had to ingest, eat, the source of infection if there was to be a chance of onward transmission? The response was a weary smile.

And furthermore, dentists and their instruments are by definition in contact with bodily fluids, including, from time to time, blood. So I could understand the rigorous instrument sterilisation procedure. But chiropodists shouldn't normally be drawing blood? Surely? And then I thought of the aforementioned ingrowing toenails. Hmm, they can be messy.

At the end of the meeting, I conceded that any new law that hinders chiropodists treating their patients, obliged them to spend time doing other things like sterilising their instruments, was not good news. Goodness knows it is already hard enough to get chiropody treatment for people who need it, like the disabled or elderly.

I agreed to table a number of written questions to pin down exactly where the new law has come from - for instance a EU directive - and also to flush out what on earth this variant CJD factor is all about. I don't remember having heard anything about mad cow disease being acquired via hooves or toenails; but I am happy to be proved wrong. The important thing is to get to the truth.

The following day, Wednesday, my morning kicked off with a similar meeting - this time about Crohn's disease and colitis - with the chief executive of the Crohn's Disease Association Richard Driscoll.

Now I know a little about Crohn's disease and colitis because I have a good friend who is in permanent severe pain owing to this horrible affliction of the intestines or colon. She has had several operations over the years - cutting out the parts where the disease was worst - but she is not at all out of the woods. Doctors still don't quite understand this condition and, sadly, we are not on the verge of a full cure. It is a worry for my friend, her husband and her children.

How can we increase MSPs' understanding of Crohn's disease and colitis? How can we get over the taboo - people not talking about problems with their bottom? Did I know that in Scotland the incidence is probably about one person in every 220?

Mr Driscoll and I sat in my Holyrood office and I carefully gave him the names of a number of MSPs, in all the main parties, who I thought might take an interest and be helpful. "When you e-mail them, use my name", I added.

I suggested an event in the Scottish Parliament to bring Crohn's disease and colitis to the wider attention of MSPs and their staff, and I pointed out that in order to assure maximum attendance, a Wednesday night in the Garden Lobby is the best bet. I also pointed out that the Garden Lobby is booked for months in advance (demand is high) and that we were probably talking about next spring for the event.

"Oh - and if you can find a celebrity who takes an interest in the diseases, then invite him or her to come along on the night and open the event. In the past J.K. Rowling has done wonders for the MS Society," I said as my guest left.

I use these two meetings as examples of how we can do things in Holyrood.

If you want to carve out new territory - finding out why chiropodists are being bogged in seemingly slightly dotty new laws, or how we can push Crohn's disease and colitis further up the political agenda - then it is crucial for MSPs to meet and talk with the people involved.

It is an aspect of work rather different to the cut and thrust of the chamber - but, like getting out and about in one's constituency, it is really important. Health is fundamental to all our lives. MSPs in all parties owe it to their constituents to make sure that they get the best of treatment regardless of who they are or where they live.

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