NHS staff resist using Palantir software • The Register

NHS staff are reportedly resisting the use of Palantir's Federated Data Platform (FDP), citing ethical concerns, privacy worries, and doubts about the platform's utility. The resistance comes despite the £330 million contract awarded to Palantir in 2023 to build the system for the health service.

The FDP is designed to connect various NHS systems into a single searchable database to help clear care backlogs. However, since its adoption, some care boards have delayed their implementations due to an unwillingness to use the system, and the British Medical Association has even called for doctors to stop using it over Palantir's recent work with ICE on its deportation efforts under the Trump administration.

Those are among the reasons NHS professionals gave to the Financial Times in a Thursday report on NHS boycotts of the FDP, with many saying simply that they didn't feel comfortable using a system built by Palantir. One official reportedly described Palantir as "ethically bankrupt" in justifying his refusal to use the software, and noted that he knows of coworkers who deliberately slow their work pace when forced to use the system.

Another noted that the system actually "doesn't do anything new for us," and said they prefer to work around it, but that they also feel a tinge of ethical guilt whenever they have to use it. "It makes me feel sick every time I log into the thing and I know I'm not alone in that," the individual told the FT.

The UK had a troubled relationship with Palantir even before the contract was awarded, with privacy fears and worries over Palantir's close relationship with the US government top of mind for officials and the general public alike.

Despite widespread worry within the NHS over Palantir's role in the health service and its access to UK citizens' data, its lack of transparency around the original award seems to be the key reason UK government officials are pushing the org to kill its deal by exercising a break clause in the contract.

Palantir has criticized the push from within the UK government to break the contract as ideologically motivated, which MPs have rejected. Instead, they argue that it's all about the contract award and what's happening to patient data Palantir touches.

Despite the push, Palantir's role in the UK government still isn't shrinking: Just last week, it was revealed that the Financial Conduct Authority has signed a three-month trial contract with Palantir to help it make sense of its sprawling data lake of financial complaints and data. It marks another expansion of Palantir's UK government footprint in 2026, despite the government claiming it wanted to become more sovereign in its tech buying, with the Ministry of Defence publishing details in January of a follow-on data and software agreement with the company.

This resistance highlights the growing tension between government technology procurement and public trust, particularly when it comes to sensitive health data. The situation raises important questions about the balance between technological efficiency and ethical considerations in public sector IT projects.