How to choose a hospital

[namelessmum]

A family member has experienced bleeding in his urine and has been referred on to urology department by GP. GP said there were a number of possible causes of bleeding, but did not rule out bladder cancer. Family member surprised to be offered choice of several hospitals. Two are large hospitals, for which waiting times for appointments are longer (mid-August). A couple offered much earlier appointments, but they are very small hospitals with some kind of link to the larger ones. Am concerned that if family member opts for earlier appointment at smaller hospital:

(a) is that likely to mean that he will be seen by less experienced/specialised staff?

(b)will smaller hospital just end up referring him on to larger one with result that he ends up being seen later than if opted for large hospital in the first place?

Does anyone out there know how these things work and have any thoughts? NB Travelling to any of the hospitals not a problem, as another family member available and willing to do driving. Any advice appreciated!

Presumably the smaller hospital will have consultants the same as the larger one? If the problem is severe enough to be referred on to the larger one, it should be done as an emergency.
Could the person concerned ask for advice from the GP?

you could have a look at NHS Choices website, it might be useful (or not) See if you can find out about the consultants and who might have the best reputation.

Thank you for your replies.

If it's a possible cancer then there's a 2 week wait for him to be seen by a healthcare professional. Specialised staff do go and work in the smaller hospitals, they can do a number of tests there but if he needs specialised treatment then he'll be referred to a larger hospital.

There are other causes to blood in the urine. I know it's hard but try not to think the worst. It's quite common in older gents to have this, they will do some blood tests, an ultrasound and an IVU (which is a series of x-rays, they inject a dye into his blood and take x-rays as it filters through the kidneys to make sure they are working properly). They can then do a different procedure with a camera going into the bladder. Normally all of this just takes up a day.
Hope this helps.

Belle, just wanted to say thank you for your very helpful response. Luckily, an appointment has now become available at one of the bigger hospitals early next week.