The NHS is facing a "bed blocking crisis" despite the government's extra spending on health, claim the Tories.

During Commons exchanges, shadow health secretary Dr Liam Fox accused the government of presiding over "crisis and collapse" with a 30 per cent spending boost coinciding with a 40 per cent increase in the delayed hospital discharges.

"There is a bed blocking crisis and a collapse in the care home sector and all this despite the government admittedly putting in more money," he said.

"How can it be that despite a 30 per cent rise in expenditure the NHS managed to treat fewer elective patients last year than the year before?" he asked during health questions on Tuesday.

Alan Milburn dismissed the Conservative figures, asserting that delayed discharges had dropped by 21 per cent since 1997.

But the health secretary conceded that bed blocking around the country was "pretty patchy" and the problem got "worse the further south you get".

"Overall across the country the number of delayed discharges is falling however in particular parts of the country, and frankly it gets worse the further south you get, there are particular problems," he said.

Milburn defended the government's overall record, accusing the Tories of "running and talking the NHS down".

"Under this government all of these indicators are moving in the right direction because they are increasing," he told MPs.

"What people will see is the greatest contrast between this party which believes in building up the NHS and your party both in government and in opposition which believes in running it down and talking it down."