Overview
- Government figures, who disclosed Tuesday they are weighing a contract break, have begun mapping how to remove Palantir from the NHS’s federated data platform.
- The seven-year £330 million deal was signed in 2023 with a review point in 2027, and officials told the FT the assessment is not driven by specific dissatisfaction as an independent evaluation by Imperial College Projects gets underway.
- NHS data credit the platform with more than 110,000 extra operations and a 6.8% drop in patients waiting over 28 days for a cancer diagnosis, with 123 of 205 trusts using it and 80 reporting benefits.
- Doctors’ groups and some parties object to Palantir’s work with US military and ICE, while the Department of Health says trusts control access, Palantir cannot view patient records, and patients can opt out.
- Treasury agency Nista expects the programme’s whole-life cost to exceed £1 billion yet rates delivery ‘green,’ and NHS digital leaders say a supplier switch is feasible but would be disruptive for hospitals.