FT analysis suggests FDP benefits are very uneven
- 16 June 2026
- Analysis by the FT suggests Federated Data Platform (FDP) waiting list benefits are heavily concentrated in a small number of NHS trusts
- Freedom of Information data shows wide variation in performance, with some trusts reporting fewer operations after adopting FDP tools
- Experts have cautioned that waiting list changes depend on multiple factors, not just the FDP
A report in the Financial Times suggests that the waiting list reductions attributed to the Federated Data Platform (FDP) are heavily driven by figures from a small number of NHS hospitals.
The FT report also found that some NHS hospitals saw waiting list performance worsen after implementing the FDP software.
NHS England and Palantir have claimed the FDP is delivering better patient outcomes. They say the FDP has contributed to 110,000 additional operations being carried out and helped trusts validate waiting lists, contributing to a reduction of 800,000 patients on waiting lists.
These numbers simply look at performance since adopting the tool, taking no account of other factors that may have influenced performance.
The FT report analyses data obtained under Freedom of Information legislation by legal campaigning charity Foxglove.
The data suggests just one trust, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, accounted for 84% of the reduction in outpatient waiting lists cited by NHS England across the 16 trusts using the platform. The trust accounted for 84% of the 217,846 patients flagged for removal from outpatient waiting lists.
Overall, the report suggests that the benefits are more mixed, complex and uneven than the headline figure of 110,000 additional operations repeatedly cited by NHS England and Palantir would imply.
The FOI data analysed by the FT suggests wide variations in performance across parts of the health service that are using the platform, with almost a third of hospitals using FDP reporting a decline in the number of operations performed.
Among the 41 trusts using the FDP theatre scheduling tool, 13 reported performing fewer procedures after adopting it.
The FDP is being delivered by Palantir under a £330m contract awarded in November 2023.
Stephen Childs, head of UK health partnerships at Palantir, said: “We are always striving to improve and one part of that is to apply the lessons from those trusts who are seeing the best results from the software to other trusts where adoption may be slower.
“But we should be clear that the recent history of technology in the NHS has, by the government’s own admission, seen us fall behind, exacerbated by various failed programmes, often at great expense to the taxpayer.
“And what these figures show, despite attempts by the campaign group that obtained them to present them otherwise, is that Palantir software is helping to fix this and enable the NHS to deliver better patient care.”
The FT article also quotes industry leaders who note that FDP is just one factor likely involved in changes – both up and down – to waiting lists. Other factors include staffing levels and alternative approaches to waiting list validation.
Sarah Scobie, deputy director of research at the Nuffield Trust think-tank, is quoted as saying: “Changes in waiting lists and the use of theatres are very complex and down to many factors — not just one IT programme.”
An NHS England spokesperson also told the FT: “Thousands more patients are benefiting from the NHS Federated Data Platform every month, with more than 110,000 extra patients having undergone procedures in operating theatres, while also reducing the number of unnecessary days patients stay in hospital following treatment by a seventh.”
