Palantir tech unused or little used by 29 NHS trusts said to be benefiting from (www.theguardian.com)

More than 29 NHS hospital trusts, publicly listed as benefiting from Palantir's £330 million federated data platform (FDP), have reported that they are either not using the system or its applications. This discrepancy between NHS England's claims and the trusts' actual usage has raised significant concerns among health officials and campaigners, who label the situation as misleading. Amid increasing scrutiny, health secretary Yvette Cooper faces pressure to terminate Palantir’s contract, with critics arguing that if numerous trusts do not find value in the FDP, serious questions regarding the platform's alleged efficacy must be addressed. Palantir's technology aims to streamline healthcare operations by connecting fragmented medical files, potentially enhancing efficiency in patient care. However, the NHS itself has acknowledged difficulties in proving the claimed benefits, leading to investigations by the Office for Statistics Regulation. As NHS England maintains that many trusts report benefits from the platform, industry leaders emphasize the importance of transparent and verifiable reporting of outcomes. With calls for an open competition for a UK-based supplier, this situation underlines the growing scrutiny on the intersection of advanced AI solutions and public health services, as well as the implications of using private sector technology in delivering critical healthcare functions.