A junior doctor in a dimly lit on-call room scrolls through the NHS.net directory late at night — and freezes. There, amid the sea of familiar names, sits a Palantir engineer’s profile, complete with mobile number.
Palantir NHS email access. That’s the phrase ripping through hospital corridors right now. Staff are livid. Engineers from the spy-tech darling — you know, the one founded by Peter Thiel, who once quipped the NHS makes people sick — now roam the same digital turf as over 1.5 million health workers.
It’s not just emails. These contractors dive into SharePoint fileshares and Microsoft Teams chats too. All to roll out Palantir’s Federated Data Platform, a £300m deal snagged in 2023. NHS England touts it as the fix for siloed patient records, promising snappier waiting lists, faster diagnoses. Sounds peachy. But shove Palantir in the mix? Suddenly, it’s less apple pie, more poison pill.
Why Are Doctors Drawing the Line at Palantir?
Rory Gibson, a resident doctor, nailed it:
“I – as a doctor – absolutely don’t want my personal email and number to be accessible to someone who works for Palantir on the NHS, and might next month be working on systems for drone strikes. NHS staff have not consented to sharing their email addresses with Palantir staff.”
Spot on. Consent? What’s that in the rush to digitize? Gibson’s not alone. Staff stumbled into Teams meetings with these ghosts — Palantir folks logging in via NHS accounts, incognito. No heads-up. Just surprise guests from a firm that boasts AI for “scaring and killing enemies,” per CEO Alex Karp.
And the leadership? UK arm run by Louis Mosley, grandson of fascist Oswald Mosley. Thiel bankrolls Trump. Palantir kits out US ICE for deportations, UK cops, even the Ministry of Defence. Now they’re burrowing into patient data? Cozy.
Here’s my unique take: this reeks of the early 2000s NHS IT fiasco — remember the £12bn NPfIT debacle, scrapped after wasting billions on unworkable systems? Palantir’s no different. They’re selling drag-and-drop data magic that could morph into a surveillance superhighway. Predict this: give it five years, and we’ll see AI-flagged ‘high-risk’ patients funneled into predictive policing-lite, all under ‘efficiency.’ History rhymes — privatize, digitize, regret.
Palantir’s Defense: ‘It’s Normal, Folks’?
Palantir spins it smooth. A spokesperson chirps:
“This is normal practice for government suppliers. Indeed the government’s own guidance states that using government systems is more secure than suppliers using their own systems.”
Sure. And my coffee’s secure in a leaky mug. They tout stats: 110,000 extra ops, fewer discharge delays, quicker cancer spots. Fine. But software’s only as ethical as its wielders. NHS controls the data? Laughable when contractors swim in the directory.
NHSmail policy greenlights it for ‘independent sector’ outfits. No restrictions? Boom — staff deets, Blue Light discounts (yes, really). David Rowland from the Centre for Health and the Public Interest cuts through:
“The controversy around Palantir is but one example of private companies with problematic backgrounds delivering health and social care services in the UK – it’s time for a full scale review of which companies are getting NHS money and how they were awarded contracts.”
Damn right. Ethical mismatch screams. NHS founded on equity, not Thiel’s libertarian wet dreams.
Staff fury boils over. Human rights groups howl. Patients whisper worries. Yet NHS England shrugs: “All under control, strict obligations.” Pull the other one.
Does Palantir’s NHS Embed Risk a Surveillance State?
Think bigger. Palantir’s Gotham platform — that’s the beast — glues data silos effortlessly. Police use it. MoD too. Reform UK floats a British ICE? Plug in health data, and poof: total profile on citizens. Vaccinations, appointments, genomes — all interoperable.
Critics fear state power grabs. Fair. Founders’ vibes don’t scream public good. Thiel trashes welfare states. Karp revels in war tech. Embedding them? It’s handing car keys to drunk drivers.
Not unusual, say defenders. Private contractors everywhere. True-ish. But Palantir’s baggage towers: surveillance scandals, opacity, ties to authoritarians. NHS isn’t just any client; it’s the UK’s moral core.
Pushback mounts. Trusts and ICBs nudged to adopt FDP. Some resist. Good. But momentum’s there — government’s ‘radical shifts’ to digital Nirvana.
Dry humor alert: if Palantir cures waiting lists, will they invoice per drone strike saved? Nah. Worse — they’ll own the data plumbing.
The Real Cost of ‘Reinventing’ the NHS
£300m contract. Non-competitive, whispers say. Palantir’s PR machine hums: software, not decisions. NHS calls shots. Cute. But access breeds influence. Engineers troubleshoot FDP? They’re eyes on the prize.
Staff reactions? Visceral. Emails flood. “Who consented?” Silence. Policy bendy, but spirit? Cracked.
Bold call: scrap it. Or audit ruthlessly. No more spy-tech in scrubs. Review all contracts, as Rowland urges. Time’s ticking — before Palantir’s tendrils choke the system.
NHS spokesperson parrots: control, confidentiality. We’ve heard that before. Billions later, trust erodes.
One-paragraph rant: this isn’t progress; it’s privatization with a surveillance kicker, dressed as efficiency. Wake up.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why has Palantir been given NHS email accounts?
To support FDP rollout securely, per government guidance — but it grants directory access to 1.5M staff details.
Is Palantir a risk to NHS patient data?
NHS insists control stays with them; critics fear interoperability enables broader surveillance.
What is Palantir’s background in the UK?
Used by police and MoD; founded by Peter Thiel, linked to US immigration enforcement and defense tech.
