Recent reporting has intensified concerns around Palantir’s controversial role in the NHS’s Federated Data Platform (FDP), a £330 million system intended to improve how health data is shared and analysed across England.
An investigation by Democracy for Sale revealed leaked internal NHS documents describing Palantir’s software as “slow and clunky”, with some tasks reportedly taking up to ten times longer than existing NHS tools. Critics argue this undermines claims that the platform would improve efficiency and patient care. Read Article Here
At the same time, NHS analysts and data professionals have publicly raised concerns about the FDP’s long-term impact on patient trust, local NHS autonomy and the future of public healthcare data systems. Writing in openDemocracy, the group “NHS Analysts Together” warned that the platform risks centralising power within a single private supplier while sidelining locally developed NHS expertise and infrastructure. Read Article Here
The debate reflects wider unease around Palantir’s expanding presence in UK public services. Campaigners, MPs and healthcare workers have questioned both the technical performance of the FDP and the ethics of handing sensitive NHS data infrastructure to a US technology company with deep links to defence and surveillance work.
