Palantir AI tech unused or little used by 29 NHS trusts said to be benefiting from it

More than two dozen hospital trusts the NHS claims have benefited from Palantir’s medical data platform are not using all or most of the AI-powered technology, the Guardian can reveal. The 29 hospital trusts that NHS England publicly lists as “realising benefits” from the controversial £330m federated data platform (FDP) have said the system is not live or they are not using any of its applications. The apparent gap between the NHS claim and the trusts’ understanding was described as “very misleading” by one sen…

By the Truvace deskNovember 2, 20262 min read1 sourceEvidence: Moderate · 55/100 — Investigative reporting · 1 independent sourceJournalismTRV-2026-2335· cite & verify

Palantir AI tech unused or little used by 29 NHS trusts said to be benefiting from it

In brief

Freedom of information requests, obtained by the charity Medact and shared with the Guardian, show that 29 hospital trusts NHS England lists as realising benefits from Palantir's federated data platform say they are not using it or any of its applications. Several trusts said it was not live, and one said it does not intend to roll it out.

The finding matters because ministers and MPs are weighing whether to keep Palantir's contract, and the benefits claims feed into that decision. NHS England says the list includes back-office uses and that nearly 140 trusts have reported benefits. The statistics watchdog is looking at the claim, and the platform's real impact on patient care remains disputed.

Main points

NHS England's website says 137 trusts are live with the platform, but 29 of those listed as realising benefits said they were not using the system or its apps.
Trusts such as Epsom and St Helier, Kent and Medway and Mersey Care said the platform was not in use or not yet live, and University Hospitals of North Midlands said it does not intend to roll it out.
NHS England says its benefits list includes trusts using the tools for back-office data analysis and submission rather than for patient care.
The Office for Statistics Regulation said it will take the claim forward under its casework function.

The problem

NHS England lists 29 trusts as realising benefits from the £330m Palantir platform, yet those trusts say it is not live or they use none of its apps, which undermines the reported benefits.

The rundown

The findings came from more than 100 freedom of information requests gathered by Medact, a medical charity campaigning for Palantir to be removed from the NHS. A senior health official described the gap between the NHS claim and the trusts' understanding as very misleading.

NHS England has previously claimed 117,539 more operations were carried out by trusts using the platform in a year, but conceded this summer that it could not prove cause and effect. The statistics watchdog had already investigated that claim.

Politically, the health select committee and the chair of the science and technology committee are calling on ministers to end or review the deal, including using the 2027 break clause. Palantir's UK chief executive said that ending the contract would put politics above patients. Palantir cites a 14.3% reduction in discharge delays for long-stay patients and a 5.6% improvement in 28-day cancer diagnosis.