Palantir patient data tech rejected by many NHS trusts in England

Many National Health Service (NHS) trusts in England have rejected Palantir's patient data technology, according to freedom of information responses obtained by the Guardian. While some health bodies claim the £330m federated data platform (FDP) has improved waiting lists and surgery scheduling, others say they are declining to use it or have reverted to old systems.

A Suffolk trust stated that other systems "supercede" the FDP's functionality, while Greater Manchester’s care board called the Palantir system "duplicative" and "retrograde." The responses come as the government faces a decision on whether to exercise a break clause in the seven-year NHS-Palantir deal. Concerns over Palantir's involvement in the NHS include its other contracts with the Israeli military and Donald Trump’s homeland security forces, as well as public debate about the effectiveness of the system and the involvement of a company cofounded by tech billionaire Peter Thiel.

Palantir has challenged claims that other software could be just as effective, and its senior vice-president Tom Watson previously said that if other companies could do it, they would have participated in free and open competition to run the FDP. However, parliamentary select committees have urged the government to end Palantir's contract, with some health officials and campaigners arguing that alternatives exist and that the government must back NHS innovation instead of outsourcing key functions to big tech companies.