@NHSEngland today ran a webinar in which it was claimed that the @PalantirTech #Palantir #Foundry data platform used for the COVID-19 Data Store was "a contract awarded in open competition".
This contract had to be obtained by @openDemocracy through legal action.
If the contract itself was kept secret, it is hard to see how the contract could have been awarded in "open competition using normal procurement rules"
opendemocracy.net/en/ournhs/weve…
When the contract was published it turned out that the original contract cost was £1. One pound.
opendemocracy.net/en/ournhs/it-s…
How exactly does an organisation like @NHSEngland think this fits with "normal procurement"?
The reasoning was, of course, all explained away as related to the COVID crisis, and nobody was surprised when the subsequent contract extension was for £1 MILLION.
But, from the webinar today, it's clear that this Foundry platform, which is just one of MANY data science platforms, is being quietly but deeply embedded into the day-to-day functioning of the entire English NHS.
Here's the link to the webinar (it was actually called a "mini-huddle" but WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT)
events.england.nhs.uk/events/foundry…
Not sure if the recording (it was recorded) will be shared anywhere - if anyone finds it please do link here.
This whole thing needs a serious dose of transparency. Who decided that we need to embed an ethically questionable company at the centre of @NHSX and @NHSEngland
Who green-lights a £1 contract, knowing this is a Drug Dealer Business Model?
I'm concerned at this direction of travel and I think we should be asking questions and backing @openDemocracy @medConfidential @Foxglovelegal and others who are holding this organisation to account.
Interestingly the link to the original webinar has disappeared. Nothing to see here.
events.england.nhs.uk/events/foundry…
It's here on @waybackmachine though
web.archive.org/web/2021061512…
@MartinRCGP @HelenRSalisbury @rvautrey @bengoldacre @NDGoffice @alanhassey @arjundhillon @xavierdrake @healthyopinion @drgandalf52 @jodyaberdein @mgtmccartney @ClareGerada @AoMRC @Parody_RCGP @rcgp
So you might be asking "why do I need to care that Palantir Foundry is now becoming the main data analytics platform for NHS England?"
The answer is in the 'Planning' bit of #GPDPR GP Data For Planning and Research.
National 'Planning' flows are likely to flow to Foundry
NHSE are open about the fact that the COVID-19 Data Store has access to "pseudonymised data" - possibly better described as
"INDIVIDUAL LEVEL, RE-IDENTIFIABLE DATA"
It's in the Privacy Notice for the C19DS:
england.nhs.uk/contact-us/pri…
kudos @EinsteinsAttic for spotting change
Words like
"pseudonymisation"
"de-identification"
are used to obfuscate that this is individual level data - a full, longitudinal health record of one person.
So, finally the dots all join up and you can see how two apparently unrelated programmes of work unite.
GP Data for Planning and Research
feeds
Palantir Foundry
It's only *this week* that it was obvious from outside, and from public documents.
The data in the NHS is described by @EY_UKI as worth £10 billion per year
digitalhealth.net/2019/07/nhs-da….
This is the data we are emphatically NOT SELLING. No, we're giving it away.
It's important to note that until 2019 @NHSDigital had a MoU with the Home Office that allowed them to access medical data for the purposes of 'investigation' - the MoU is in the public domain *now* but only after a legal fight.
> Baw's Law: "All data will be abused"
So it's quite difficult to have trust and faith in a government that wants *more data*, when that same government also wants to curtail your right to protest
All these things are linked: #GPDPR #TIGRR #DataStrategy #KilltheBill #HealthBill #Palantir
.@DavidDavisMP is absolutely smashing it out of the park right now (I never thought I'd hear myself say this) in Adjournment Debate parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/bf…
@bengoldacre @sebbacon @Foxglovelegal namechecked, and he's saying exactly what needs to be said here.
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