In its 7 May Parliament manifesto, Labour also pledged to meet the target of 95% of patients requiring pre-planned hospital-based care starting treatment within 26 weeks by 2030 (a target last achieved in 2010) and spend £4 bn over 10 years on a ‘Hospitals of the Future Fund'.

Wales First Minister and Labour leader Eluned Morgan said she was offering a ‘serious plan' to ‘strengthen our NHS and cut waiting times'.

Figures published in February showed waiting lists at their lowest in almost three years.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said there was ‘little detail' on how the waiting time targets would be met, however, adding ‘the challenges in improving NHS performance should not be underestimated'.

The IFS said the capital investment would be funded by via a mix of grant funding from the UK Government, the Welsh Government's capital borrowing powers and the ‘mutual investment model'.

It commented: ‘This approach could help deliver the new hospitals more quickly – or with less squeeze on other investment spending – than would otherwise be the case. But investments funded this way are generally more expensive and will increase the squeeze on future day-to-day budgets once service charges become due.'