GP Records Now Flowing Into Palantir's NHS Data Platform
Cheshire and Merseyside ICB Transfered 5 GP Practice Patient Data To Palantir
Patient data from GP surgeries has begun feeding into the NHS's Palantir-built data platform, marking a significant expansion of the system beyond its existing use inside hospitals.
According to an internal NHS briefing note reviewed by the Financial Times, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside — the integrated care board responsible for planning local health services — has overseen the transfer of data from five GP practices into its local version of the Federated Data Platform (FDP).
The move is sensitive because the FDP is built by Palantir, the US technology firm with links to America's defence establishment and the Trump administration's immigration enforcement efforts. When the £330 million FDP contract was signed, ministers told Parliament the deal came with strict confidentiality safeguards and explicitly stated that GP data would not form part of the national platform. GP records are widely regarded as the fullest available record of a patient's long-term health history, which is what makes their inclusion notable.
NHS officials maintain that this development concerns only a local pilot rather than the national system referenced in Parliament. NHS Cheshire and Merseyside said the pilot is intended to test whether insights drawn from general practice data can support population health management through the platform's commissioning tools, and said data-sharing agreements are already in place with the practices involved. An internal NHS document reportedly described the five-practice pilot as a major milestone for the programme.
A separate internal briefing from early 2025, also seen by the FT, shows NHS England officials were already aware that folding GP data into the platform would be "high risk" and would require public engagement — and that no such data had originally been deemed necessary when the FDP programme began.
The disclosure comes as Palantir faces intensifying scrutiny over its UK public-sector role. The Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Committee has previously described the company's position in government systems as an "unacceptable point of weakness" and pushed ministers to activate the 2027 break clause in its NHS contract. Health minister James Frith has separately acknowledged to the health select committee that public "mistrust" in Palantir could deter patients from sharing their data at all — a risk, he warned, that could undermine delivery of the government's 10-year health plan.
An NHS spokesperson defended the platform, saying it supports several priorities including population health management and helps local organisations improve service planning, which can include accessing GP data where local agreements exist. Palantir said it was proud its software was helping improve patient care nationally, citing a 15% cut in discharge delays for long-stay patients, and stressed that it only supplies the software — how it is used, the company said, remains entirely under NHS control.
Source: Financial Times
IF YOU AFRE CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR GP RECORDS HAVING BEEN HANDED OVER TO PALANTIR BY THE CHESHIRE AND MERSEYSIDE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD, YOU CAN CONTACT THEM VIA EMAIL TO MAKE A SUBJECT ACCESS REQUEST:
YOU CAN ALSO EMAI THEM VIA THIS ADDRESS: Email enquiries@cheshireandmerseyside.nhs.uk for general enquiries
