MPs have warned that an NHS decision to grant Palantir access to identifiable patient information in its plan to use AI to improve the health service is “dangerous” and will fuel public fears that data privacy is not being prioritised.
NHS England has allowed staff from the US tech firm and other contractors to access patient data before it has been pseudonymised, despite internal fears of a “risk of loss of public confidence”, the Financial Times reported.
The health service made the move to allow Palantir to access the data in recent weeks according to the reports, which revealed an internal NHS briefing that said it would allow “unlimited access to non-NHSE staff” to part of the NHS’s federated data platform (FDP), which holds identifiable patient information.
Palantir was awarded a £330m contract to help build the FDP, installing AI systems to integrate scattered health datasets and bring efficiencies to medical treatment. But the deal has been dogged by warnings from campaigners and MPs concerned about the security of patient records.
The Patients Association said it was concerned patients were not consulted on a significant change to who has unlimited access to patient data. Rachel Power, its chief executive, said patients wanted “transparency, clear boundaries around access to their data, and to be consulted when changes to those agreements are proposed”.
The leaked NHS England briefing acknowledged the “considerable public interest and concern about how much access to patient data Palantir/Palantir staff have”. In 2023, shortly after the deal was agreed, NHS England said it would ensure “personal data remains protected and within the NHS at all times”.
Source: The Guardian, 11 May 2026
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