Pharmacy bodies have slammed the decision to increase England's prescription charge by 25p, stressing that the charge was "unfair" and calling for a freeze on prices until the next election.

In plans outlined yesterday, health minister Simon Burns announced that the cost of a prescription in England would rise to £7.65 from April 1. The news followed the abolition of the charge in Scotland last year, leaving England as the only remaining part of the UK where patients have to pay for prescriptions.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) said the move would penalise patients with long-term conditions and called for a price freeze until the next general election, while Pharmacy Voice said it was "disappointed" with the price increase.

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	"Prescription charges deter many people from getting medicines that their doctor prescribes," said Pharmacy Voice chairman Ian Facer. "I often see patients who have to make the decision of what medicine they can take based on their finances."

He added that processing prescription levies increased pharmacists' workloads. "Pharmacists, like other healthcare professionals, experience great pressures on their time and any release of time could be used to enhance patient care," he said.

And the RPS said the decision to increase the prescription charge was "simply unacceptable" in the current economic climate. "We already know that some people with long-term conditions are rationing or stopping taking potentially life-saving medicines because they are too expensive. And even ministers have acknowledged that the prescription charges system is unfair," it said in a joint statement with 24 charity partners, that also support the abolition of the charge. The RPS has urged pharmacists to sign an e-petition against the rise.