Private urology in Birmingham: prostate, stone and bladder care locally

The Harborne Hospital's urology page covers cancers of the prostate, bladder and kidney, kidney and bladder stones, urinary tract infections, an enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia), urinary incontinence, erectile dysfunction and varicocele. That is a wide remit, and it is one of the longer condition lists we read for any Birmingham department.

Diagnostic work listed on site includes blood and urine tests, imaging, cystoscopy, in which a thin camera is passed into the bladder, and urodynamic studies, which measure how the bladder fills and empties. Having these on the Mindelsohn Way site means a symptom review can sometimes be followed by tests without changing hospital.

Surgical options named by the hospital include robotic prostatectomy using the da Vinci Xi system, transurethral resection of the prostate, nephrectomy, cystectomy, vasectomy and circumcision. Non-surgical treatments listed are lithotripsy for stones, cryotherapy for prostate cancer, aquablation and prostate artery embolisation for an enlarged prostate, and the UroLift procedure. The page also mentions brachytherapy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy services. It states a team of 14 consultant urologists, 50 private en-suite beds and four theatres.

Spire Parkway presents this under men's health. It covers prostate, penile, testicular and bladder problems, and names prostate cancer and prostate disease, erectile dysfunction, fertility problems and testicular lumps. The procedures it lists are circumcision, hydrocele surgery, kidney stone treatment, prostatectomy, laser prostate surgery, vasectomy and its reversal, testicular implants and UroLift.

Its wider treatments list also names aquablation therapy and bladder investigations. Imaging is on site, with ultrasound, CT and MRI available at Damson Parkway, which is useful for stone work and for prostate assessment. Spire says patients can fund care privately, through insurance or through medical loans, and that NHS patients are accepted.

Spire Parkway is in Solihull. Drivers from the M42 take the A41 Solihull bypass to Yew Tree Lane, and the hospital states that Birmingham International and Solihull stations are each about a 10-minute taxi ride away.

NHS Birmingham and Solihull ICB plans local care, and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust runs Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, Heartlands, Good Hope and Solihull Hospital. We have not confirmed from the trust's own pages which sites hold which urology clinics, so ask the referral team or check the e-Referral shortlist your GP gives you.

If a GP suspects prostate, bladder or kidney cancer, the urgent suspected cancer pathway aims to confirm or rule it out within 28 days, under the Faster Diagnosis Standard. For non-urgent urology the 18-week referral-to-treatment standard applies in England. Because the right to choose is English, a Birmingham patient referred by a GP can compare providers, including those private hospitals with an NHS contract.

Waterworks symptoms in men over fifty, such as a weak stream, getting up at night and a sense of incomplete emptying, are often due to benign prostate enlargement. Assessment commonly includes a symptom score, a urine test, a PSA blood test after counselling about its limits, and sometimes ultrasound. Medicines come first for many men, and procedures such as laser surgery, UroLift or aquablation are options when symptoms persist.

Kidney stones typically cause sudden pain in the loin that may spread to the groin, sometimes with blood in the urine. Imaging by CT is the usual way to see them; small stones may pass, while larger ones can be broken up with lithotripsy or removed through a telescope. Any stone pain with fever, or with a kidney that cannot drain, needs urgent hospital care.

Blood in the urine that you can see should always be checked, because it can come from infection, stones or a tumour. The usual tests are urine analysis, ultrasound or CT, and cystoscopy to look at the bladder lining.

Rail users will find Harborne easier, as University station is five minutes away on foot and the hospital lists free parking in Car Park 2 on Wolfson Drive. The hospital also has an urgent care centre for adults on weekdays from 8am to 7pm, though it excludes life-threatening conditions and the page tells people in those situations to call 999.

Cancer pathways are worth discussing separately. Harborne lists brachytherapy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy alongside its urology page, whereas the Spire Parkway pages we read describe cancer investigations and treatment more generally. Ask each hospital which parts of a cancer pathway happen under its own roof and which are delivered elsewhere.

• Ask whether your consultant performs the specific operation proposed, and how often.

• Ask if cystoscopy or urodynamics can be done at the same visit as the consultation.

• Ask what the written quote includes: theatre, implant or device, overnight stay and follow-up.

• Ask where results are reviewed and how quickly you will hear them.

The Harborne Hospital says insured patients need a GP referral and an authorisation code from their insurer, and that self-pay patients can receive a clear written quote setting out what is included. Spire Parkway states that self-pay, insurance and NHS routes are all open to patients.

Check the details with the hospital before relying on them; services, consultant lists and prices change, and nothing here endorses a provider.