Government contracts with the controversial US tech giant Palantir are under fresh scrutiny, with ministers reportedly mulling scrapping a contract with the NHS.1The £330m deal for Palantir—which also provides services to US immigration enforcement and the Israeli military—was intended to create a federated data platform (FDP) for NHS England to help streamline health service data.But now data seen by The BMJ suggest that pilots of the FDP, run at Chelsea and Westminster Foundation Trust and subsequently promoted as a Palantir success story, are flawed.When challenged on the controversial partnership with Palantir, NHS England has repeatedly pointed to the supposed benefits the FDP is bringing to the health service. Hailed as an example of these benefits is Chelsea and Westminster, described by the UK government “as national exemplar for AI.”The trust was one of the first to pilot the FDP, and the apparent “success” was used as grounds for expanding the...
BMJ published a clinical update in Research Highlights on 13 Apr 2026.
The item focuses on Palantir: NHS pilot’s “success” is questioned as second figure at maȷor trust is linked to the tech giant.
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