NHS Trusts Across England Turn Their Backs on Palantir’s Patient Data Platform

London: NHS organisations caring for millions of patients in England are declining to use the controversial patient data platform built by US technology firm Palantir. Freedom of information responses show that many health bosses believe their existing systems are as good or better.

More than two dozen FOI responses were reviewed by The Guardian. In them, 16 NHS trusts and health boards said they do not use the Federated Data Platform (FDP), which was introduced in March 2024. Palantir leads the consortium that NHS England contracted in November 2023 to build it, in a deal worth up to £330 million over seven years.

Several trusts said the platform offered nothing beyond what they already had. University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust said it would not adopt the system mainly because it did not appear to add functionality to its current tools. The responses were gathered by Medact, a health workers’ campaign group opposed to Palantir’s role in the health service, and published on the transparency site WhatDoTheyKnow.

Medact said the findings showed that alternatives exist and that a safe move away from Palantir is possible. It argued the government has no justification for extending the contract, which comes up for review in February 2027. Palantir rejected the group’s findings, accusing it of slanted analysis and of misleading the public.

The government’s own data watchdog has also flagged resistance. Nicola Byrne, the National Data Guardian for health and social care, has told ministers there is evidence that a significant number of local NHS organisations are reluctant to adopt the platform. She cited concerns about Palantir and a preference for other solutions as reasons. She has also warned that nearly 100,000 patients opted out of data sharing this year, a rise that coincided with intense public scrutiny of the company.

NHS England defended the programme. It said 137 trusts have reported benefits from tools available on the platform, helping staff join up care for patients and work more efficiently.

Palantir’s role in the NHS has drawn criticism since the company’s first pandemic-era contract, awarded for £1 in 2020. Campaigners argue the platform lacks a proper consent mechanism for patients and could open the door to commercial use of health data. Protests under the banner “No Palantir in the NHS” have been held at hospitals and health bodies in more than 30 places across England, and Amnesty International has called on public institutions to stop buying the company’s services.