A delay in the issue of concession prices for November has caused “considerable stress” to pharmacy contractors in England, who are coping with medicine supply issues in a volatile market at the same time as pharmacy funding cuts, PSNC has said.

The Department of Health has issued a final list of concession prices for the November dispensing month, the organisation announced, saying that some concessions that were requested had not been granted.

PSNC says it continues to warn of the consequences of pushing the sector "beyond breaking point".

Sue Sharpe, PSNC chief executive, commented: “The delay by the Department of Health (DH) in issuing concession prices for November has caused considerable stress to contractors, who are already under massive pressure both trying to source medicines for patients and following Government cuts to funding.

“PSNC is pleased that further November prices have finally been issued, although many are lower than we had sought and some concessions that we had applied for have not been granted. We made requests for December price concessions early in the month and very much hope that DH will respond to these requests in a more timely manner.

“Volatility in the generics market means that the current pricing system is not working for contractors; PSNC will continue to press for improvements.

“We will also continue to highlight the very hard work being done by community pharmacy teams to ensure that patients can access the medicines they need, and to warn of the consequences should the sector be pushed beyond breaking point.”