Palantir AI Tech Unused by 29 NHS Trusts Despite Claims

An exclusive investigation has revealed that more than two dozen hospital trusts claimed by the NHS to be benefiting from Palantir's medical data platform are not actually utilizing most or all of the technology. NHS England publicly lists 29 hospital trusts as realizing benefits from the controversial £330m federated data platform, yet these trusts report that the system is not live or that they are not using any of its applications. A senior health official has described this gap between official claims and trust statements as very misleading.

This development occurs as health secretary Yvette Cooper faces increasing pressure from members of parliament and campaigners to cancel the US tech firm's contract. The flagship government system aims to connect scattered medical files, speed up hospital hospital discharges, and improve surgery scheduling. Louis Mosley, Palantir's UK and Europe chief executive, defended the company by stating that ending the contract would put politics above patients.

Twenty-nine hospital trusts listed as benefiting from Palantir are not actually using its applications.

The discrepancy emerged from more than 100 freedom of information requests obtained by the medical charity Medact and shared with the media. While NHS England states that 137 trusts are live with the platform, several trusts responded that they are focused on other priorities, have not gone live, or do not intend to roll it out. For instance, Epsom and St Helier stated it is not using the system at the moment, and University Hospitals of North Midlands confirmed the platform is not live and will not be rolled out.

NHS England explained that its list includes trusts using tools for back-office data analysis and submission rather than direct patient care. A spokesperson noted that infrastructure is in place to support data submission, such as calculating treatment costs, rather than active operational use of applications. Meanwhile, the Office for Statistics Regulation confirmed it will take forward the matter under its casework function following previous scrutiny over cause-and-effect claims regarding operations.

Why it matters

The disagreement over platform usage affects public transparency and governance surrounding major healthcare technology contracts. It raises critical questions regarding how government agencies report the success and implementation of outsourced digital tools in public health services.