New Department of Health figures revealed the huge variations in a 'league table' of hospital costs with cataract surgery near the top. At one site the cost of cataract removal was &\#163;337, but at another it was &\#163;1,659. The survey, based on returns by all 249 NHS Trusts, found one of the least expensive sites was Moorfields Eye Hospital in London. As a result of the survey, ophthalmology departments in the more costly sites may have to meet tough new targets to improve value and efficiency. Health Minister Alan Milburn said the table had been published to roll back the culture of competition caused by the internal market in the NHS encouraged by the previous government. Mr Milburn added that there might be genuine reasons for cost variations, such as different staffing levels, but he expected hospitals which were charging significantly more to attempt to cut costs in line with government targets. 'This publication marks an end to the secrecy of the internal market where competing hospitals hid their performance from public scrutiny,' he said. 'In the new NHS, hospitals will compare in public rather than compete in secret.' This new information reveals unexplained and unacceptable discrepancies in costs between new hospitals.' He said the Government was not interested in care on the cheap but that 'quality and efficiency go hand in hand'.