NHS hospitals are being urged by a group of doctors, human rights groups and campaigners to reconsider using a major data platform built by US tech giant Palantir, whose owners include Peter Thiel, a close ally of US President Donald Trump.
The NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP) is a system designed to bring together information from across the health service so hospitals can analyse it more easily and improve how care is delivered.
Supporters say the technology is already helping the NHS treat more patients and manage pressure on services, but critics argue it raises wider concerns about privacy, ethics and the role of large technology companies in handling sensitive public sector data.
The FDP aims to connect operational data from across the NHS, including information about waiting lists, hospital capacity and patient pathways, allowing staff to plan care and allocate resources more effectively.
In 2023, NHS England awarded Palantir the contract for the platform worth up to £330m. The company says its technology is already improving how the service functions.
However, the deal has been strongly criticised by some healthcare workers and campaign groups like Medact, who have published a briefing urging NHS bodies to reconsider adopting the platform.
Dr Rhiannon Mihranian Osborne wants the contract to be scrapped, and has told Sky News that staff understand the importance of privacy and ethics in patient care.
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She said they are “horrified” by Palantir’s involvement in the scheme as it “could seriously damage trust in our health system”.
She urged local hospitals not to adopt Palantir software and, in doing so, “put the interests of patients and workers above American big tech corporations”.
She said: “We know the rollout isn’t going to plan – NHS analysts have told us the software offers nothing special, implementation costs are spiralling and the drive to adopt Palantir tech risks pushing out local, trusted data solutions.”
The debate has also drawn in international human rights organisations.
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Matt Mahmoudi, researcher and adviser on artificial intelligence and human rights at Amnesty International, said the company “has a track record of flagrantly disregarding international law and standards, both in the violations of the human rights of migrants in the United States, which it risks contributing to, and its ongoing supply of artificial intelligence products and services to the Israeli military and intelligence services”.
Amnesty has asked public institutions to reconsider working with the company, Mr Mahmoudi said.
Health officials say the system is part of a broader push to modernise the NHS and make better use of data to manage demand and improve outcomes for patients.
Palantir told Sky News its software “is playing an important role in improving patient care – helping to deliver 100,000 additional operations, a 12% reduction in discharge delays and the removal of 675,000 patients from waiting lists”.
It’s up to the NHS to decide how its products are used, the statement said, and data can only be processed “in accordance with their strict instructions”.
The firm said it has “no intention of and no means of using the data in the way that the Medact report is suggesting, [as] to do so would be illegal and in breach of contract”.
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An NHS spokesperson defended the contract, telling Sky News that the platform is “delivering huge benefits for patients and the NHS, joining up care, speeding up cancer diagnosis and ensuring thousands of additional patients can be treated each month”.
Palantir, the spokesperson said, was “appointed in line with public contract regulations and must only operate under the instruction of the NHS, with all access to data remaining under NHS control and strict contractual obligations protecting confidentiality”.
