NHS must address concerns about perceived advantage of bidders like Palantir, National Data Guardian

Nicola Byrne: People want to feel confident that the power dynamics are not skewed in favour of the commercial company

NHS must address concerns about perceived advantage of bidders like Palantir, National Data Guardian. Nicola Byrne, Source: GOV UK

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NHS must address concerns about perceived advantage of bidders like Palantir, National Data Guardian. Nicola Byrne, Source: GOV UK

Dr Nicola Byrne, the National Data Guardian for Health and Social Care in the UK, says NHS England needs to address growing public concern about the £480 million contract to operate its Federated Data Platform (FDP).

As Computing has reported, it is widely expected that the contract will go to the controversial US data mining company Palantir.

The National Data Guardian is an independent body that advises the health and adult social care system in England around issues of data, confidentiality and patient choice.

In a bog post, Byrne, who has held the post of National Data Guardian since 2021, said she wants to address growing public concerns about NHS England's FDP contract, "so that it does not lose public support and so that planning and research do not suffer."

Byrne said NHS England gave her a high-level communications plan last week and said the Professional Record Standards Body will be engaged to help design the FDP.

She welcomed these moves, but said they come later than ideal.

She cited previous unsuccessful NHS initiatives such as Care.data and GPDPR, which she characterised as "well-intentioned" but which ultimately failed due to inadequate communication.

"They remind us of how vital it is to communicate and engage effectively with the public and professionals to maintain trust in how the NHS handles people's data," Byrne wrote.

She advised NHS England to urgently prioritise communicating with the public to demonstrate:

"[People] want to feel confident that the power dynamics are not skewed in favour of the commercial company and that the NHS remains in the driving seat. In the case of this specific procurement, people also want to understand the nature of the supplier's relationship with their data, Byrne wrote.

Byrne acknowledged that commercial involvement in NHS data raises concern, but insisted the public will support the FDP if there is "a commitment to authentic communications, engagement and transparency"; if the public can see demonstrable benefits to the health service; and if adequate safeguards are in place.

She said NHS England must avoid "guarded communications" that fuel distrust. She advised transparency, even if it means acknowledging unknowns.

"I hope NHS England avoids any tendency towards overly cautious communications in the face of public criticism - for example, out of anxiety that responding to concerns will substantiate them or fuel them further," Byrne wrote.

Palantir's involvement with NHS England

Palantir is a particularly controversial choice thanks to the company's background with in CIA, use by US immigration control and closeness to former president Trump.

Its engagement began during the pandemic, where it helped implement a system for rolling out ventilators and hospital bed for a token contract of £1.

At the time, critics argued this was its foot-in-the-door, strategy, and that mission creep was inevitable. NHS England has since expanded the use of Palantir's Foundry software to several other parts of the health service's operations, including the £23 million Covid data management contract. This week, emails emerged suggesting NHS officials knew Palantir would win the deal well before it was officially awarded.

In June, NHS England has awarded a £25 million contract to Palantir, to transfer existing NHS projects into the FDP, in what legal campaigners described as a "stitch up".

In all, Palantir has secured five consecutive NHS contracts without a competitive bidding process.