Watchdog investigates contractor access to identifiable NHS patient data

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Erin Dean

The health data watchdog is investigating how external contractors came to have access to identifiable patient data in the NHS federated data platform - despite being told that this would not be the case.

The national data guardian for health and social care, Dr Nicola Byrne, said she had been previously assured that access to the NHS federated data platform (FDP) would be limited to NHS staff with a “legitimate need”.

However she said the NHS England programme team had confirmed recent claims by campaigners and media coverage that external contractors could access data in the system run by Palantir.

Byrne said she was not previously aware of this access.

“We have therefore written to the programme to seek clarification on this inconsistency”, she said.

“We need to be confident that the positions presented to us are accurate, consistent, and clearly reflected in public-facing transparency materials.”

Byrne was responding to claims from campaign group Not With My NHS Data that staff from Palantir and other external contractors hired onto the FDP programme had been granted access to identifiable data inside the raw information handed over by NHS organisations.