‘Sick at the desk’ workforce crisis costs UK economy billions every year Business Britain’s workforce health crisis isn’t happening on sick leave; it’s happening at the desk, as employees are working through illness and stress. Poor workforce health is estimated to cost the UK economy £241bn in lost productivity annually, according to claims in a new report by healthcare insurer Vitality, with mental ill-health being the single largest [...]
UK AI health rules could give firms ‘competitive edge’ as ministers back overhaul Tech Experts have said Britain’s new approach to regulating AI in healthcare could give UK tech firms a “competitive edge” by letting them prove their technology in the NHS earlier. The UK government on Tuesday accepted all 44 recommendations of the National Commission into the Regulation of AI in Healthcare, paving the way for a shake-up [...]
NHS may not be able to replace Palantir before £330m deal deadline Tech The NHS may not be able to replace Palantir before a crunch deadline on its £330m data contract, raising the stakes for ministers as pressure mounts to cut ties with the US tech giant. The warning comes as ministers weigh Palantir’s future and campaigners ramp up pressure to ditch the company, with more than 44,000 [...]
A National Social Care Service would be a total disaster September 29, 2026 Even if we generously assume that a National Care Service would not lead to efficiency losses, crude rationing of care services, and an explosion in waiting times, it would still be a bad idea, because it would lead to the politicisation of key decisions in the sector, says Kristian Niemietz Britain spends about 2.6 per [...]
Former Labour deputy joins Palantir as tech giant targets UK growth September 18, 2026 Former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson has joined Palantir as a senior vice president as the US tech firm looks to expand its work with the British government while facing mounting scrutiny over its public sector contracts. Watson, who served as an MP for 18 years and held ministerial roles under Gordon Brown, will work [...]
Palantir’s NHS platform expands into GP patient data sharing September 15, 2026 Patient data from five GP surgeries in England is being fed into the NHS’s Palantir-built data platform, pushing the US firm’s reach beyond its initial remit of hospital operations into local surgeries. NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, one of England’s largest Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), is overseeing the move onto Palantir’s Federated Data Platform (FDP). An [...]
The aristocratic landowner taking record rent from ‘cradle-to-grave’ health empire September 10, 2026 One of London’s biggest landowning families raked in record rent from its Marylebone property empire last year, helped by a surge in demand at its ‘cradle-to-grave’ private healthcare district. Howard de Walden Estates, which owns the Harley Street health district and the residential Marylebone Village, grew its rental income from the estate by 9.3 per [...]
How the NHS backlog fuelled a private equity gold rush in UK health market September 8, 2026 Private equity firms are circling the UK’s healthcare market as NHS backlogs push a wave of patients towards private providers, experts have said. Britain’s biggest private hospital operator, Spire Healthcare, which operates 38 private hospitals, on Sunday agreed to a £1bn takeover by Toscafund Asset Management. Earlier this year, private healthcare property firm Assura agreed [...]
Doctors union tops up £1m reserve pot for strikes August 12, 2026 The trade union for doctors has stashed away hundreds of thousands of pounds more to fund future strike action despite posting another year of losses, new accounts reveal. The British Medical Association (BMA), which represents over 200,000 doctors and students, put aside around £300,000 more funds towards its reserve for industrial action last year, according [...]
NHS data counters claims that £330m Palantir deal has led to ‘no improvement’ August 11, 2026 Internal NHS data indicates that Palantir’s hospital discharge tool cut delays by as much as 28 per cent, City AM understands, challenging recent reports from critics of the tech giant that it had made “no noticeable improvement” to the healthcare system’s efficiency. According to an internal NHS England report seen by City AM, trusts using [...]