Freedom-of-information responses from across England show many NHS organisations rejecting or abandoning a £330m federated data platform run by Palantir after its March 2024 rollout, with 16 trusts explicitly saying they do not use it. Several trusts - including University Hospitals of North Midlands, Dorset HealthCare, Humber Teaching, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Avon and Wiltshire mental health partnership and University Hospitals Birmingham - said the platform offered no clear functionality beyond existing systems or was duplicative. Some areas reported benefits such as easier waiting‑list management and improved theatre scheduling, but campaigners collated the FOIs on a public transparency site and argue local alternatives or home‑grown tools provide equal or better value.
The technology’s future hinges on a government decision about a break clause in the seven‑year contract amid protests and wider unease over Palantir’s other contracts and its cofounder Peter Thiel. Palantir disputes the criticisms, pointing to a green delivery rating, NHS England figures that 137 trusts reported benefits, and internal metrics claiming 117,000 extra operations and a 14.3% drop in long‑stay discharge delays - though causation is not established. Parliamentary committees have urged ending the deal, the national data guardian warned ministers to weigh local trust confidence heavily, and thousands of legal objections to data sharing underline the political and operational fault lines.
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