Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust is leveraging the NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP), which incorporates Palantir software, to enhance operational efficiency and patient care. The FDP is a national NHS program designed to integrate health data from various organizations to improve services.
The Healthier Communities Select Committee heard that the Trust uses the FDP for managing elective services through the Care Coordination System (CCS), sharing data with the London Ambulance Service (LAS) for learning purposes, and for discharge planning via the Optica system. Officers explained that the FDP has improved operational visibility, increased theatre utilization from 72% to 79.2%, and streamlined discharge coordination.
Beyond the reported increase in theatre utilization, the FDP has facilitated improvements in patient care by supporting operational visibility and streamlining discharge coordination through the Optica system. Optica has replaced multiple calls, emails, and spreadsheets with a shared platform for updating patient progress, highlighting delays and responsibilities for complex patients. Initial feedback suggests Optica has reduced day-to-day discharge delays. Additionally, data shared with the London Ambulance Service (LAS) through the FDP supports their training, learning, and staff development, aiming to improve the quality and safety of future patient care. The nature of this data sharing for 'learning and safety' purposes includes relevant information on treatment received, outcome of ED visits, and emergency admission status.
Councillors expressed concerns regarding the use of Palantir, its reputation, and potential impact on patient trust and data sharing.
They also referenced Amnesty International's stated position that human rights abuse-linked tenderers should be excluded for professional misconduct on procurement grounds.
Councillor Jones also noted that there is a feeling of upset that Palantir is being used in the trust
among her colleagues.
The Trust confirmed that it remains the data controller for its local FDP instance, with data remaining under NHS control and Palantir acting solely as a data processor. The FDP integrates data from various systems to support operational management of waiting lists, theatre schedules, and patient discharges. Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) have been completed for all FDP use cases, and access is role-based. Lewisham Council's Data Protection Officer has approved the use of Optica.
The role-based access control system ensures that only authorized personnel can access sensitive patient data. Access is limited to staff or partner users with an operational need to use the relevant module. When partner employees require access, it is granted by the Trust based on honorary contracts, managed and controlled by the Trust's Director of Site Operations, with regular reports confirming the details of system usage.
While the specific methods of anonymization or pseudonymization before processing by Palantir are not detailed, the meeting information states that data within FDP remains under NHS control, each NHS organisation determines access to and use of its own data, and the supplier cannot access, use or share NHS data for its own purposes.
The future of the FDP is uncertain, with a national review underway and a decision on contract extension expected in December 2026. For more details, refer to the Public reports pack and Agenda frontsheet from the Healthier Communities Select Committee meeting.
