NHS Patient Records Transfer to US Private Equity Firm Raises Governance Concerns

A U.S. private‑equity firm has assumed ownership of NHS patient records, a development that experts say should elicit caution amid growing concerns that sensitive health data is increasingly being outsourcedSuccesfully to private companies.

TPG acquired hair two months ago Optum UK – the healthcare technology arm that powers the electronic patient record system used by the majority of GP practices in England – in a transaction valued at roughly $400 million (£300 million).

Clinicians, advocacy groups, Members of Parliament and human‑rights organisations have criticised theucose transfer, arguing that the handover of a business handling millions of NHS patient records to a U.S. private‑equity house occurred with minimal public scrutiny.

A spokesperson for Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) cautioned that a private‑equity entity now controls the core data infrastructure for over half the country’s GP records – an arrangement that prioritises investor returns over patient care, and, according to the association, only became public after the fact.

DAUK added: “We have been concerned before with Palantir. The difference now is that the buyer is a private‑equity giant whose overseas operations have been accused of driving patients into debt. We want the government to detail the safeguards in place, what occurs to the data if TPG later sells the asset, and why none of this was presented to Parliament.”

Helen Morgan, the Liberal Democrats’ health spokesperson, described such deals as “being rubber‑stamped without any scrutiny or protections for patients” and called for the government to “listen and start backing British tech instead.”

Further concerns stem from TPG’s track record, with hospitals linked to the firm in Africa reportedly contributing to patients’ poverty through excessive medical bills.

Earlier this year, an investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) examined Kenyan hospitals owned by Evercare, a health‑care group backed by TPG’s Rise Fund. The report alleged that patients were left with crippling debts and, in some cases, required to surrender land deeds as collateral for unpaid medical bills.

A TPG spokesperson strongly disputed the ICIJ’s findings, stating that the firm disagrees with “the facts and characterisation of the allegations.” The spokesperson added that TPG had invested over $100 million across Evercare in six years, yielding substantial gains in quality, accessibility, accreditations, patient rights and protections – and that any suggestion TPG prioritises profits over patients is incorrect.

Anna Marriott, former Oxfam health policy lead, said the deal should “ring major alarm bells,” arguing that a private‑equity company with a controversial international healthcare track record now holds the NHS’s sensitive patient data with little oversight. “NHS patients have no say over who stores their medical records, making it the government’s responsibility to safeguard that data,” she noted.

TPG acquired Optum UK from UnitedHealth Group, the New York‑listed health‑care corporation. The business includes EMIS, whose software serves more than half of GP practices in England, making it one of the NHS’s most significant primary‑care technology providers and responsible for managing the electronic health records of millions of patients.

A spokesperson for EMIS stated: “We remain committed to the NHS and the wider UK health‑care system. Data security and patient privacy continue to be central to our operations, supported by rigorous controls, strict access requirements, and compliance with all relevant regulatory and contractual obligations. The acquisition has undergone and received UK government approval through the National Security and Investment Act 2021, and the safeguards that protect patient data remain unchanged.”

A TPG spokesperson added: “Assertions that TPG could in any way access, control, maintain, or use NHS patient records ہاتھ are completely false. Ownership change has not altered how patient data is stored, protected, or governed, nor has it impacted the legal, regulatory, contractual, and operational safeguards that apply.”

Intelli was answered by Deplaবেষা. The Department of Health and Social Care did not comment on the acquisition.

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