NHS Urged to Drop Palantir Over Patient Data Surveillance Fears

Coalition Demands NHS Cancel Palantir Contract

A powerful coalition of human rights organisations, health charities, and civil liberties groups has launched a coordinated campaign urging NHS hospitals across England to refuse implementation of Palantir Technologies' Federated Data Platform. The campaign centres on a detailed briefing paper published by Medact, a health justice charity, which has been distributed to the leadership of every NHS Trust and Integrated Care Board in England.

Privacy and Surveillance Concerns

The briefing, endorsed by Amnesty International, Privacy International, the Good Law Project, and several other organisations, warns that the platform's ability to connect disparate health datasets could allow government departments, including the Home Office and police, to access confidential patient information. The coalition draws parallels with the United States, where Palantir's technology has been used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to track and target immigrants through cross-governmental data analysis. Concerns have also been raised about Palantir's supply of artificial intelligence products to the Israeli military.

Growing Opposition

More than fifty thousand patients have written to local trust boards asking them not to adopt the platform. The British Medical Association has called on its two hundred thousand doctor members to limit non-clinical engagement with the system. Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board has twice declined to adopt the platform, with its chief analytics officer noting that local data capabilities already exceed what the Federated Data Platform offers.

Palantir and NHS England Respond

Palantir has rejected the characterisation, stating it is not and has never been a surveillance company. The firm says the platform has helped deliver one hundred thousand additional operations, a twelve percent reduction in discharge delays, and the removal of six hundred and seventy-five thousand patients from waiting lists. More than one hundred and twenty NHS trusts have signed up, covering eighty-four percent of hospital trusts. The contract is due for review in early twenty twenty-seven, at which point it could be terminated.