Welsh Labour promises NHS will see people within 48 hours in manifesto

People with a pressing medical need will be seen within 48 hours should Labour win the next Senedd election, the party's Welsh leader has pledged.

Eluned Morgan launched her manifesto for the Senedd election on Monday morning in Swansea, claiming her party is more "serious" at running the country than her rivals.

Morgan also promised not to use Welsh government powers to raise income tax levels, and to meet a target for NHS patients to be seen within 26 weeks.

Voters in Wales go to the polls on 7 May to elect 96 member to the Welsh Parliament.

Morgan promised a "new deal for the NHS", acknowledging that the Welsh public was "frustrated" with the state of the health service.

"Waiting lists test patience although they are coming down very quickly," she said.

"Getting a GP appointment though can feel like a battle for some, and for many families progress just feels too slow".

She said under a Welsh Labour government, "people will be able to access a primary health care professional within 48 hours if they have a problem that really can't wait".

"If something doesn't feel right, you should be able to get help quickly, not weeks later."

She said it will "take work" to achieve the target and would mean "shifting funding and services from hospitals into the community".

The manifesto did not say who in primary care would see an individual within 48 hours - whether that is a GP, a nurse or someone else.

Morgan told BBC Wales that GPs are party of primary care teams "but so are ophthalmologists, so are physiotherapists, so the mental health team, so there's a huge number of people that you can go to".

A new contract brought in by England's NHS requires patients to be seen on the same day by their GP.

Asked why her target was lower, Morgan said: "Well, let's see them deliver that", adding: "I'm going to go for what I think is realistic for Wales."

Labour's manifesto promises to meet the 26-week waiting time target for referral to treatment

NHS figures in March reported that hospital waiting lists had seen a record drop, with latest statistics indicating the total number of patients had fallen eight months in a row.

It said there was 713,048 individual waits in January, 28,000 fewer than the previous month.

But by some measures waiting times were up, including the number of people waiting for diagnostics.

Labour have also promised to spend £4bn over a decade on new hospitals, and recruit the staff the NHS needs through a "long-term workforce plan".

Labour has been in charge in Wales since the Senedd's predecessor National Assembly opened in 1999, and has come first in every Welsh-only election since.

In her speech to party activists and candidates, Morgan warned voters against switching to someone else, saying the public wanted "stability".

"This election is not about political theatre - it is about something much simpler. It's about the future of Wales.

"You will hear people say this election is about change. But change is not a plan, and protest is not leadership.

"This election is a choice about who is serious enough to lead Wales forward."

She suggested Labour, and not other parties like Reform or Plaid, had "the credibility and record to deliver".

The manifesto commits Labour "not to raise Welsh rates of income tax over the next Senedd term".

Currently, Welsh ministers can vary income rates set by the UK government but do not have powers over the income levels at which people pay three different rates of the tax:

• Income tax is set at 20% for people earning between £12,571 and £50,270
• Earnings between £50,271 and £125,140 are taxed at a 40% rate
• There is a 45% additional rate for income over £125,140

The Welsh government and Senedd has power over 10 percentage points of each income tax rate.

According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the Welsh rates of income tax were forecast to raise £3.6bn in 2025-26.

Morgan promised not to raise income tax because "times have been tough enough already".

She said: "Fairness starts with understanding the pressure families face, but fairness also means action.

"This manifesto delivers real help with the cost of living.

"We will cap single bus fares at £2 across Wales, we will keep the £1 fares for young people and free travel for over-60s, and we will create 20,000 new childcare places, expanding provision from nine-months-old so families can work and get on."

Other pledges include making council tax fairer - the manifesto does not explain how but Morgan told BBC Wales the Welsh government is committed to revaluing council tax by 2028.

Labour said it would "boost standards in our schools through a relentless focus on excellence in literacy", and create "20,000 new funded children spaces".

The manifesto said the party would "unlock a new decade of housebuilding" and deliver 100,000 homes over the next 10 years".

Ministers would "work towards our vision for an energy independent Wales built on clean and homegrown energy".

On transport, Labour promises more than 100 new bus routes, to continue £1 bus fares for under 25s and free bus travel for over 60s and provide more frequent services on the Coryton line in Cardiff.