A pharmacist has warned that chemists in the Keighley area may be forced to close if the Government accepts new recommendations. A report published by the Office of Fair-trading says that regulations governing the way pharmacies are run should be scrapped.

The OFT says this will lead to more consumer choice, benefits from greater competition and better access to services. The report has been welcomed by those groups, particularly larger supermarkets and Superdrug, which have been campaigning for regulations to be abolished.

The Government has until April 17 to respond to the report which states: "We recommend that the control of entry regulations for community pharmacies in the UK should be ended. This would mean that all registered pharmacies with qualified staff may dispense NHS prescriptions."

But Martin Cant, manager of Steeton Phar-macy, says the report is driven by commercial interests and that deregulation could lead to the loss of community pharmacies. While he anticipates Steeton Pharmacy would be unaffected because it is attached to the health centre, he says that other chemists in the area could be forced to close. He explains: "The OFT say this is necessary to make medicines cheaper to buy. The reality is that by removing current controls, many small community pharmacies will be forced to close.

"In general, the prices in the pharmacy I run are comparable to those in larger stores, but I don't offer 'buy two get one free' deals on medicines and I don't sell packs of paracetamol tablets for less than the price I paid for them. I think that medicines need treating with more respect than tins of baked beans."

Critics of the OFT report have accused it of being a charter for supermarkets whose recommendations jeopardise the quality of pharmacy service available from independent pharmacies. Mr Cant explains: "Neighbourhood pharmacies provide access to healthcare for all - the elderly, young mums with babies, not just people with cars who can go to supermarkets. If I were to ask my customers what they value most about my business they would say my advice.

"Advising people about medicines, whether prescribed or bought over the counter, is seen by the public and by the NHS - our largest customer - as an essential part of our service, but we receive no payment for it.

"The Department of Health recognises many roles that community pharmacists are providing and can provide in the future, that contribute to the health of the nation and help the NHS manage its scarce resources.

"To date, however, the only way it wishes to pay for these roles is through the medicines that we sell and the prescriptions we dispense.

"Pharmacists in Airedale are looking forward to working with the local primary care trust to provide new services which benefit the health of our community. These services could be delayed or not provided in certain areas if our profession is just left to the mercy of commercial interests."

People wanting to comment on the OFT's findings should contact Peter Dunlevy, Community Pharmacy Policy Manager, Pharmacy and Prescriptions Branch, Department of Health, 155 Richmond House, 79 Whitehall, London SW1A 2NS (e-mail peter.dunlevy@doh.gsi.gov.uk).

Supermarkets' charter ... pharmacist Martin Cant is worried about the effect proposed

de-regulation will have on small chemists