Campaigners Prep Legal Challenge Over NHS Deal With Palantir
Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:
Health data campaigners are preparing for a legal challenge to the 330 million ($417 million) procurement of the Federated Data Platform (FDP) by NHS England, awarded to US spy-tech firm Palantir last month.
The group led by Foxglove alleges there is no lawful basis to create the FDP, as described in procurement documents, within the current legal directions NHS Digital uses to obtain and share data within the NHS.
According to NHS England, the "data platform" is the software it plans to use to help NHS organizations collate the operational data currently stored in separate systems in order to help staff access the information they need. This data includes the number of beds in a hospital, the size of waiting lists for elective care services, or the availability of medical supplies. The idea is every hospital trust and integrated care system (ICS) will have their own platform, but they will be able to connect and share information between them.
The controversial contract is set to last up to seven years. NHS England said the new data platform would deliver better joined-up care for millions of patients, help tackle waiting lists, and reduce hospital discharge delays. Waiting lists in the country have been at record levels since the pandemic.
[...] In a statement to The Guardian, NHS England said it has the legal authority to press ahead with the FDP without further legislation and the legal concerns were "totally incorrect."
An NHS spokesperson told the newspaper: "This letter fundamentally misunderstands how the Federated Data Platform will operate and is totally incorrect in both matters of law and fact. The platform will use only existing data legally collected by the NHS to support direct patient care, which is lawful under all relevant data protection regulations."
Read more of this story at SoylentNews.