SUPERMARKETS in Swindon are poised to open a swathe of new pharmacies - if the Department of Trade and Industry overturns restrictions.

This week's expected announcement could signal the availability of cheaper drugs and other pharmacy products, but it could also sound the death knell for smaller independent pharmacies.

The Office of Fair Trading has recommended scrapping the Pharmacy Contract Limit-ation, saying it failed to work in the best interests of patients.

But independent pharmacists in the town argue that Swindon is already well served by pharmacies and that supermarket outlets which have a licence to dispense NHS prescriptions could put them out of business.

Pharmacist Ken Schofield, who runs

the independent Park Lane Pharmacy, in Rodbourne said: "At the moment anyone who wants to set up a pharmacy has to demonstrate to the local health authority that a new pharmacy is necessary and desirable.

"The government is considering dropping this restriction. The idea is to increase competition, but it could put some smaller pharmacies out of business," he added.

The pharmacist said that Swindon presently has about 20 pharmacies.

If the government relaxes the existing regulations, supermarkets in the town could launch a further seven outlets.

"We would be looking at these new pharmacies diluting out business by about 25 per cent. This could be enough to send some outlets under," Mr Schofield said.

Cathy Jones, who has run CML Chemists in Wootton Bassett High Street for 16 years said: "We are against these proposals. I would say that about 80 per cent of the customers I serve are elderly people. If I am forced to close because of the competition from other pharmacies, it is this group of patients who will suffer. I am very concerned about these proposals," she said.

But supermarkets in the town claim that more pharmacies will be good for consumers.

Tesco spokesman Steve Gracey said: "We hope the Government will implement the OFT recommendations.

More competition in the pharmacy sector will be in the interests of patients and consumers in Swindon and elsewhere through the country," Mr Gracey said.

Asda, which runs Swindon's largest supermarket at the orbital retail park, said that it planned to set up shop- floor pharmacies if the DTI reforms lifts the restrictions.

Spokesman Nick Agarwal said: "This is something that we have been campaigning about for a while.

"Anyone who's struggled to find a pharmacy that's open in the evening or at a weekend or pay through the nose for their medicines knows there needs to be change."

In May, pharmacists in the town presented a 2,000-name petition to the House of Commons through South Swindon MP Julia Drown. Also, a petition containing 1,778 names was presented by residents of Wootton Bassett by James Gray, MP for North Wiltshire.

The Pharmacy Contract Limitation was introduced in 1987 to prevent NHS-regulated dispensing pharmacies from relocating in and around GP surgeries creating an uneven and unbalanced distribution of pharmacies.

Under NHS regulations, anyone who wishes to establish a pharmacy in an area must apply to the local health authority to be included on a pharmaceutical list.