UK government: we demand a say in how our NHS health data is used

Sign This Petition

Would you also like to receive email updates from our partner, Just Treatment? * Yes No
- If you are not already subscribed, would you like to receive email updates from Foxglove? * Yes, opt in to email updates No, do not opt in

UK government: we demand a say in how our NHS health data is used

UK government

The UK government is preparing to hand a massive new £480 million contract to run the NHS ‘Federated Data Platform’ -- the biggest IT contract in NHS history -- to a shady US spy-tech firm called Palantir.

Foxglove strongly disagrees with the decision to let Palantir into the NHS - and this giant new system makes it more important than ever that you have the power to choose who can access your health record, and why. But the government doesn’t agree. In a last-minute change, officials are saying patients have no say over how their health data flows through this database - that they won’t honour patient opt-outs, even if the data is used for reasons beyond your direct care.

Sponsored by

Foxglove

To: UK government
From: [Your Name]

We demand a say in how our health data is used, especially in a system run by US corporation Palantir. We want our data to be used to help the NHS. We also want our privacy protected, and we don’t want our data to be commercially exploited without our consent. We call on you to:

1. Respect the opt-outs: Give patients a meaningful choice in the Federated Data Platform - if you use the system beyond direct care, patient choice has to be respected.
2. Reform patient choice: Overhaul the existing systems for patient consent to give patients real choice about how our data is used, even when it has been “pseudonymised”.
3. Keep it safe: protect patient data from commercial exploitation and ensure our health data is not shared with other government bodies, for example the Home Office and HMRC.