Five independent pharmacies are claiming they may be forced to close when the new Surbiton Hospital opens leaving patients to travel further for prescriptions and medicine.

A consortium of Kingston pharmacists fear chains like Boots and Lloyds will be given preferential treatment for financial reasons by Lift Co, the company charged by Kingston NHS primary care trust to develop the hospital.

They want to run the pharmacy at the hospital which they claim will allow them to keep their pharmacies open saving patients time and money.

Vasant Hindocha is a member of the Kingston, Richmond and Twickenham Local Pharmaceutical Committee, although his Ritechem pharmacy in Victoria Road in Surbiton is not threatened.

He said: “In our view the LIFT company, more than the PCT, want to raise maximum amount, with total disregard to the implication to the local population, especially sick and elderly.

“If the contract was granted to the highest bidder, who would want to extract the maximum financial benefit from the contract, a number of pharmacies are in danger of closing down.”

Shops that feel threatened include the PSM Pharmacy, Shan Pharmacy and Clarke Pharmacy, all in Ewell Road, as well as the Newman Pharmacy in Berrylands Road and Pearcare Pharmacy in Alexander Drive, Berrylands.

A spokesman for NHS Kingston said: “South West London Health Partnership, the developer for the Surbiton Hospital site, are carrying out market testing for the provision of pharmacy services, and all feedback will be considered as part of this process.”