A new National Schedule of Reference Costs and National Reference Cost Index will aim to tackle what the Department of Health called 'the significant variations' in cost for the same service or treatment in hospitals. One example given by the Department of Health of the variations in the cost of treatment is that of a phakoemulsification cataract extraction, the most common cataract operation performed by the NHS. With a lens implant provided as a day case, it can be over six times more expensive in some areas than others, with the average being around &\#163;600. 'There are currently some unacceptable variations between hospitals in the costs of treatments,' said Mr Milburn, 'these new measures will iron them out and obtain better value for money for patients.' The National Schedule will show the range of costs in each treatment category, ranking all NHS Trusts from those with the lowest to the highest costs. The Cost Index will rank all NHS Trusts on a scale of efficiency. This will, claimed the DoH, allow comparison between all Trusts, even if they provide different treatments and services. The first reference cost schedule will be published in August, covering the major areas of hospital activity. National benchmarks for each type of treatment will be set and will form the basis of targets for NHS Trusts to aim for. 'Hospitals in the future will be comparing not competing,' said Mr Milburn. 'In the new NHS, efficiency and quality go hand in hand, we are making the NHS more open and more accountable to the patients it serves.'