NHS Trusts Reject Palantir Data Platform as Contract Decision Looms
Freedom of information responses show 16 trusts and health boards do not use the platform, while NHS England reports benefits at 137 trusts.
Key takeaways
- Sixteen trusts and health boards said they do not use Palantir’s platform.
- The government faces a decision on a break clause in its seven-year NHS-Palantir deal.
- NHS England says 137 trusts have reported benefits from the platform’s tools.
- NHS England cautions that its data cannot establish the platform caused reported improvements.
Sixteen NHS trusts and health boards in England said they do not use Palantir’s Federated Data Platform, according to freedom of information responses reviewed by The Guardian. The findings come as the government faces a decision on whether to use a break clause in its seven-year deal with the company.
More than two dozen responses were gathered by health campaign group Medact. Some organisations said the platform offered little improvement over existing systems, while others said they had tried it and returned to previous tools. The £330 million platform was introduced in March 2024.
Palantir disputed Medact’s analysis and called the programme successful. The company said the platform gives trusts tools to use according to their needs, and pointed to NHS figures showing 117,000 additional operations and a 14.3% reduction in discharge delays for long-stay patients.
NHS England said 137 trusts had reported benefits from the platform. It has cautioned that its statistics cannot establish cause and effect because other variables were not controlled for.
More than 44,000 people have filed legal objections to their health data being shared with, stored in or used by the platform, according to the article. The government’s national data guardian has urged ministers to give substantial weight to public trust when deciding the contract’s future.
This article was produced with the help of AI technology. Based on reporting by the outlets listed above.
