NHS Staff Raise Alarm Over Palantir Engineers Accessing Internal Systems
Health service employees have voiced significant alarm after engineers from the controversial tech company Palantir were granted NHS email accounts, providing them access to a directory containing contact details for up to 1.5 million staff members. Sources indicate that Palantir personnel working on the Federated Data Platform (FDP) for NHS England have also been given entry to NHS SharePoint filesharing systems and internal Microsoft Teams groups.
Background on the Federated Data Platform Contract
In 2023, Palantir secured a substantial £300 million contract to deliver the FDP, which NHS England promotes as a tool to connect patient records across disparate systems. This initiative aims to enhance the management of waiting lists, streamline appointment allocations, accelerate diagnoses, and personalize treatments more effectively. It forms a critical component of the government's broader strategy to digitally transform the NHS, shifting from analog to digital operations.
Ethical Concerns and Staff Reactions
While it is standard practice for private contractors to utilize NHS systems, Palantir's association with AI-driven surveillance and military technology has sparked intense ethical debates. Rory Gibson, a resident doctor, articulated widespread unease: "I – as a doctor – absolutely don't want my personal email and number to be accessible to someone who works for Palantir on the NHS, and might next month be working on systems for drone strikes. NHS staff have not consented to sharing their email addresses with Palantir staff."
Evidence reviewed by The Guardian confirms that at least six Palantir engineers involved in the FDP rollout have been assigned NHS.net accounts. These accounts, if unrestricted, allow access to sensitive staff information, including roles, locations, workplaces, and mobile numbers, and can even be used to claim "Blue Light" discounts from retailers.
Palantir's Defense and Broader Implications
A Palantir spokesperson defended the arrangement, stating: "This is normal practice for government suppliers. Indeed the government's own guidance states that using government systems is more secure than suppliers using their own systems." The company highlighted that its software has contributed to delivering 110,000 additional operations, reducing discharge delays by 15.3%, and increasing cancer diagnoses within 28 days of referral by 6.8%. They emphasized that data usage remains strictly under NHS control.
However, David Rowland, director of the Centre for Health and the Public Interest, warned: "The strong reaction of NHS staff to the involvement of Palantir in the health service shows that there are deep ethical concerns that its values and way of making money run counter to the founding values of the NHS." He called for a comprehensive review of private companies receiving NHS contracts, citing Palantir as a prime example of firms with problematic backgrounds operating in the public sector.
Historical Context and Political Dimensions
Palantir's founders include Peter Thiel, a US businessman and supporter of Donald Trump, who has criticized the NHS, and Alex Karp, who has boasted about the company's role in surveillance and military operations. The UK branch is led by Louis Mosley, grandson of British fascist leader Oswald Mosley. Critics fear that the interoperability of Palantir's systems could facilitate state abuses of power, such as enabling a potential British version of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, as proposed by the Reform UK party.
An NHS spokesperson reassured: "All suppliers, including Palantir, and their staff operate only under NHS instruction, with all data access remaining under NHS control and governed by strict contractual confidentiality obligations." Despite this, the controversy underscores ongoing tensions between technological advancement and ethical safeguards in healthcare.
