The Register has reported that “in response to the widespread controversy surrounding the UK health department’s attempt to buy a Federated Data Platform (FDP) – a competition that incumbent supplier Palantir considers a “must-win” – NHS England has reached for a “critical friend.”
“In January, NHS England and NHS Improvement launched the competition for a new £480 million ($580 million) data platform which promised to help “rapidly scale and share innovative solutions that directly addresses the challenges most pressing for the NHS.”
But the history of the procurement has not been universally happy. In November, US spy-tech firm Palantir won a £23 million ($28 million) contract without competition to extend its work on the platform. The deal, which was extended without competition in January, was subject to threats of judicial review, after which the NHS agreed not to extend it without public consultation.
Legal campaigners at Foxglove said the group and its partners at Just Treatment, the Doctors Association UK, and the National Pensioners Convention have serious concerns about the FDP.”
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