NHS England launches £2m patient engagement campaign over use of GP records
Move comes ahead of expected announcement of Federated Data Platform contract award
NHS England has initiated a £2 million campaign aimed at actively involving patients in discussions about how their data will be utilised, including its use within the £480 million (Federated Data Platform) FDP project.
The FDP will link disparate systems within NHS England and provide a way for clinical, administrative and reference data for the purpose of analytics.
The NHS's move comes after National Data Guardian, Nicola Byrne, said in August that the health service needed to address growing public concern about the confidentiality of heath records.
In response to the announced consultation, Byrne said: "I welcome the progress towards the public engagement commitments as promised in the Data Saves Lives Strategy. It is vital to listen and engage with the public when considering policy changes or technical improvements that will impact on how Health and Care Data is used.
NHS chief data and analytics officer Ming Tang said: "It's so important that the public are involved and able to inform - and have confidence in - what we're doing to improve the NHS's use of data to help save more lives," NHS chief data and analytics officer Ming Tang said. "These events are all about building that confidence and ensuring the public can have a key voice in shaping the way our vital programmes use data to improve patient care in the NHS."
FDP announcement delayed
NHS officials have once again delayed the awarding of the £480 million contract for the Federated Data Platform (FDP), pushing the timeline back by a few weeks.
The competition was officially launched in January, and prospective bidders were expected to know the outcome before the contract's commencement on 28th September, 2023. However, the announcement has now been postponed until mid-October.
This marks the second instance of a delay in the competition for the FDP. Moreover, the project's cost has been adjusted since the launch of the competition, initially set at to £360 million and then increasing to £480 million.
Privacy advocates and patient and legal groups have expressed concerns regarding the procurement process and patient privacy assurance regarding the contract.
US spy tech firm Palantir is reportedly the leading candidate to secure the seven-year contract, which would involve the company supplying the FDP to integrate IT systems throughout the healthcare and social care sectors in England.
Palantir, founded by billionaire Peter Thiel, specialises in data analysis and large-scale processing. Thiel continues to serve as the company's chairman and has close ties to former US President Donald Trump.
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, the NHS used Palantir's Foundry software to monitor the vaccine distribution, providing officials and healthcare leaders with data on vaccination rates categorised by age, gender, ethnicity, and GP practice.
Palantir initially secured a £1 million government contract without competitive bidding in the early stages of the pandemic. Subsequently, in December 2020, they entered into a £25 million contract, once again without a competitive procurement process.
With more recent extension agreements, Palantir has garnered a total of £60 million from the NHS, all without engaging in competitive processes against other companies offering similar software solutions.
The British software company Quantexa has submitted a competing bid for the NHS FDP contract and has recently appointed Matthew Gould, the former chief of the health service's digital unit, to bolster its efforts.
Reports suggest that the US computer technology company Oracle is also vying for the same contract.
Health officials emphasise that the FDP platform will play a crucial role in seamlessly connecting patient records across hospitals, marking a significant step toward modernising the health service for the 21st century.
Sir Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, said last week that the failure to join up patient records between hospitals poses a significant risk to patients.
Whitty stressed that enabling the sharing of data is not only advantageous for the majority of patients in terms of their clinical care but is also essential because the NHS currently operates with multiple data systems that lack interoperability.