Many English NHS trusts reject Palantir patient data platform

NHS trusts and health boards across England are declining to use Palantir’s patient data platform, saying in many cases it offers little improvement over software they already have. The findings add pressure to a government decision on whether to use a break clause in its seven-year contract, worth £330m, and deepen debate over the platform’s value and the involvement of the controversial US firm in the NHS.

More than two dozen freedom of information responses reviewed by campaign group Medact found that 16 trusts and boards do not use the platform, introduced in March 2024. Some users report better waiting-list management and surgery scheduling, while others have trialled it and returned to earlier systems or cited limited benefits. Palantir says alternatives could have competed to run the platform; two parliamentary committees have called for the contract to end.