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\t\tThe UK is preparing to review Palantir\u2019s NHS contract ahead of a break clause\t<\/p>\n\t\t\tTuesday 11 August 2026 2:45 pm
\n\t\t\t\t\t\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Updated:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\t\t\tTuesday 11 August 2026 3:21 pm\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\tThe UK is preparing to review Palantir\u2019s NHS contract ahead of a break clause\t<\/p>\n
Internal NHS data indicates that Palantir\u2019s hospital discharge tool cut delays by as much as 28 per cent, City AM understands, challenging recent reports from critics of the tech giant that it had made \u201cno noticeable improvement\u201d to the healthcare system\u2019s efficiency.<\/p>\n
According to an internal NHS England report seen by City AM, trusts using the Optica AI tool recorded a 14.1 to 14.9 per cent fall in discharge delay days among long-stay patients, compared with a 2.9 to 3.5 per cent increase at trusts that had not adopted it.<\/p>\n
For patients managed directly through Optica<\/a>, NHS England calculated a 28 per cent reduction in delay days.<\/p>\n The figures were drawn up late last year in response to an analysis by the Health Foundation, which was subsequently cited in reports questioning the effectiveness of Palantir\u2019s Federated Data Platform (FDP).<\/p>\n The Health Foundation found \u201cno noticeable improvement\u201d in hospital discharge performance associated with Optica.<\/p>\n NHS England\u2019s response disputes the way that conclusion was reached, arguing the analysis included large numbers of shorter hospital stays which the tool is not primarily designed to address.<\/p>\n The NHS document has not been published and its findings do not establish that Optica alone caused the reductions.<\/p>\n The disagreement instead centres on how the impact of the software should be measured and which patients should be included.<\/p>\n It comes as the government prepares to review Palantir\u2019s \u00a3330m NHS contract ahead of a February 2027 break clause, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has confirmed.<\/p>\n Health Department defends Palantir deal<\/p>\n \u201cAs per standard practice, this contract will be reviewed ahead of the February 2027 break clause,\u201d a DHSC spokesperson told City AM.<\/p>\n However, the department defended the programme, adding that \u201cthousands more patients are benefitting from the NHS Federated Data Platform every month, including through the reduction in the number of unnecessary days spent in hospital after treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n The decision is likely to receive heightened scrutiny after separate official figures showed the expected lifetime cost of the wider FDP programme has risen to \u00a31.1bn, while its forecast financial benefits have been revised down to \u00a3808m.<\/p>\n The \u00a31.1bn figure covers the wider rollout and operation of the programme rather than Palantir\u2019s contract alone.<\/p>\n The National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) attributed the higher cost to \u201cincreased delivery at scale\u201d, while the reduction in expected benefits followed updated rollout plans, improved data and more detailed assumptions about usage and performance.<\/p>\n Despite the changes, the FDP retains a green delivery rating from NISTA, making it one of 29 out of 172 major government programmes to receive the rating.<\/p>\n Dispute over Palantir\u2019s impact<\/p>\n At the centre of the conflicting findings is Optica, Palantir\u2019s AI tool used to coordinate the discharge of patients who may require additional care or support before leaving hospital.<\/p>\n The Health Foundation compared performance more broadly across hospitals that had and had not adopted Optica.<\/p>\n NHS England argued in its unpublished response that this diluted the apparent impact because most hospital admissions involve shorter and simpler stays, while Optica is primarily intended for patients with more complex discharge needs.<\/p>\n Its analysis instead examined patients staying for more than seven, 14 and 21 days.<\/p>\n Across those groups, trusts using Optica recorded reductions in delay days of between 14.1 and 14.9 per cent, compared with increases of between 2.9 and 3.5 per cent at trusts without the tool.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Health Foundation report appears to misunderstand what the tool does,\u201d a Palantir spokesperson told City AM. <\/p>\n \u201cOptica is focused on supporting the more efficient discharge of long stay patients with complex needs. And that is where it is delivering results.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBy lumping in the vast number of cases where patients are in hospital less than a week, they are comparing apples and oranges, and diluting the impact of the product.\u201d<\/p>\n However, Tom Bartlett, founder of Bartlett Data and a former deputy director of data engineering at NHS England, told City AM there were \u201cproblems with both of the methodologies that have been used\u201d.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRead more<\/p>\n