Greater Manchester resists NHS Palantir data platform as review nears

In short: The UK government is under growing pressure to end an NHS contract with Palantir early, and Greater Manchester is pointing to its own homebuilt system as an alternative.

What's going on

The UK’s National Health Service hired US software company Palantir in 2023 to build a “federated data platform.” That is a way to pull together health information that is currently spread across many places (like trying to manage a city using hundreds of separate spreadsheets). The NHS and Palantir say the system is already helping reduce waiting times and hospital stays.

The deal is worth more than $400 million, and includes a break clause that could let the government end it early next February, rather than keep it running until 2031. In recent months, the contract has become a political flashpoint, with protests, petitions, and parliamentary scrutiny. Some politicians have warned that relying on one foreign supplier for such a central NHS system could be risky.

Most of England is already using the platform in some form. NHS figures cited by WIRED say 139 of about 200 hospital trusts are “live” with the technology, and 35 of 36 regional health planning bodies are actively using it.

Greater Manchester is the main exception. Its integrated care board has repeatedly refused to adopt Palantir’s platform, saying its own Analytics and Data Science Platform is ahead in key features, can be changed more easily, and is more trusted by the public. Palantir disputes that claim and says there is limited independent proof Greater Manchester’s system improves care.

What to watch

The key question is what the government decides by February, and whether the NHS can replace Palantir if it triggers the break clause. Trust is central here, because even a strong system can fail if patients and clinicians do not want to share data or use it.

Source: Wired