The number of blocked beds in West Sussex Health Authority's hospitals has halved in the past six months.

A House of Commons debate heard there were 71 beds taken by patients in West Sussex whose discharge was being delayed for non-medical reasons, such as lack of care home places.

Health minister John Hutton said the number had been as high as 142 in September.

Speaking in a debate on long-term care for the elderly in Crawley, he said the extra £7.1 million, which had been given to West Sussex social services this year and next to tackle bed blocking, was paying off.

The cash has helped to pay for 113 new nursing home places, allowing elderly patients to leave hospital and free up beds.

The number of beds blocked at Crawley and Horsham hospital alone has fallen from 70 to 44.

Mr Hutton, addressing MPs, said: "The figures in West Sussex are clearly still too high and there is room for more progress.

"But we have in place the mechanisms to make real improvements in the future."

The debate was led by Crawley MP Laura Moffatt, who was calling for Government support for a long-term strategy to look after the town's increasingly elderly population.

She said there would be a 51 per cent increase in the number of over-85s in the town by 2011.