HEALTH union reps, public ownership campaigners and Amnesty International UK demanded the NHS “cease all contracts with Palantir” today after the US tech company was granted “unlimited access” to patients’ data.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting was urged to reconsider a “staggering decision” to grant external staff from firms including Palantir access to patients’ identifiable data while working on its flagship platform.

An NHS England internal briefing note published today by the Financial Times said it would create an “admin” role which “permits unlimited access to non-NHS England staff” to the National Data Integration Tenant (NDIT) and identifiable patient data within it.

The NDIT is a part of a larger tool made to aggregate disparate NHS data into a single system called the Federated Data System, which earned Palantir a £330 million government contract in 2023.

As well as the controversial US tech firm, access to patients’ data could be given to any other outside firm contracted to work on the Federated Data System.

Previously, access to sensitive information required individuals working on the NDIT to apply for permission for specific data sets, the FT reported.

All-round access was initially meant to be reserved for NHS England employees with security clearance.

Written by a senior NHS England data official, the briefing note acknowledged that granting these new permissions may entail a “risk of loss of public confidence” for “safeguarding patient data and ensuring appropriate use and access to it.”

It added that external workers had requested the same permissions as NHS staff with security clearance because “it is too inconvenient to apply for all of the necessary individual CDAs.”

The note went on: “This is not only about Palantir, hence we have referred to non-NHSE staff, but there is currently considerable public interest and concern about how much access to patient data Palantir and its staff have.”

Amnesty UK crisis response manager Kristyan Benedict told the Morning Star: “Patients will rightly be concerned that a company which profits from some of the gravest human rights abuses of our time could have access to their most sensitive data.

“Palantir’s tools are being used by the Israeli military as they commit genocide against Palestinians in occupied Gaza.

“The same company supplies Ice with surveillance technology used to track and detain migrants in the United States.

“These are not abstract controversies — they are ongoing violations of international law.

“Rather than handing over patient data, the NHS should be ceasing all contracts with Palantir.”

Keep Our NHS Public co-chair Dr John Puntis said concerns over data security have already been heightened due to the UK Biobank leak last month, which saw the data of 500,000 volunteer participants posted for sale on Chinese website Alibaba.

Dr Puntis said: “Ongoing concerns about data security were heightened by the recent huge UK Biobank leaks.

“As patients are increasingly vocal in campaigns calling for the NHS Federated Data Platform contract with US spy tech company Palantir to be abandoned, it is staggering to hear that contractors have now been given free access to confidential personal data.

“Local election results are prompting people to ask ‘just what is Labour for?’

“The answers seem to include erosion of trust in government and the enrichment of US companies that on ethical grounds alone should be nowhere near our NHS.”

Unison assistant general secretary Jon Richards told the Star that “bringing in a morally dubious firm like Palantir to work with the NHS and government is a major concern.

“Unison has already written to the Health Secretary to highlight potential risks to patient data confidentiality.”  

A spokesperson for NHS England said: “The NHS has strict policies in place for managing access to patient data and carries out regular audits to ensure compliance — including monitoring the work of engineers helping to set up the central data collection platform that will track NHS performance and help improve care for patients.

“Anyone external requiring access must have government security clearance and be approved by a member of NHS England staff at director level or above.”