If you have been comparing care providers, you may have come across a PAMMS report alongside a CQC rating and wondered what it means. PAMMS stands for Provider Assessment and Market Management Solution. It is a quality assessment tool that many English councils use to check the care services they commission. This guide explains what a PAMMS assessment looks at, how it differs from a CQC inspection, and how families can use it when choosing care. It describes PAMMS in general, based on councils' published information, and does not describe any individual provider's result.
Reedsfield provides care in people's own homes only. We do not operate care homes or arrange care-home placements.
PAMMS is an online assessment tool used by local authorities to review the quality of adult social care services they commission, such as home care agencies and care homes. According to the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services in the South West, it was co-produced with care providers when councils in the South East region came together to build a consistent way of measuring quality in commissioned services.
It has since been adopted by councils in other regions, including the South West and the East of England. Each council that uses it runs its own assessments, but the shared tool means results are more comparable across areas.
A PAMMS assessment is carried out by a council quality or contracts officer. It usually involves looking at records, policies and care plans, talking to staff and managers, and hearing from people who use the service and their families.
Councils group the standards into themes. Published council guidance describes areas such as involvement and information, personalised care and support, safeguarding and safety, suitability of staffing, and quality of management. Luton Borough Council, for example, describes reviewing 16 standards for all commissioned providers.
Involvement and information: are people and families involved in decisions?
Personalised care and support: is care planned around the individual?
Safeguarding and safety: are people protected from harm?
Suitability of staffing: are there enough trained, checked staff?
Quality of management: is the service well led and improving?
The Care Quality Commission is the independent regulator for health and social care in England. Every provider of regulated activities such as personal care must be registered with it, and its inspections and ratings apply to all registered services, whoever pays for the care.
PAMMS is different. It is a council's own quality and contract check on services it commissions or funds. Councils describe a close relationship between the PAMMS standards and CQC requirements, and some present it as a supportive tool that helps providers prepare for CQC, but a PAMMS assessment is not a CQC inspection and does not replace a CQC rating.
In short, a CQC rating tells you what the national regulator found. A PAMMS report, where one exists, tells you what a local council found when it checked the service against its contract and quality standards.
Councils publish PAMMS outcomes in slightly different ways. Some give a rating for each theme and an overall rating. Others describe outcomes in terms of contractual compliance, such as non-compliant, partially compliant, compliant or exceeding compliance.
Where a council finds areas for improvement, it usually agrees an action plan with the provider and follows it up. Many councils publish summary reports through a PAMMS provider portal, so families can look up a service directly.
A PAMMS report is most useful read alongside the CQC report, not instead of it. If both point in the same direction, that gives you more confidence. If they differ, look at the dates: one may simply be more recent.
Read the detail rather than the headline. A service might score well overall but have an action on care plan reviews or staff supervision that matters to your situation. Ask the provider what has changed since the assessment.
Not every provider will have a PAMMS report. Councils usually assess the services they commission, so an agency that works mainly with privately funded clients, or in an area whose council does not use PAMMS, may not have one. That in itself is not a warning sign.
Read it alongside the latest CQC report
Check the date of each report
Look at the actions, not just the rating
Ask the provider what has changed since
Do not treat a missing PAMMS report as a red flag
Other ways to judge care quality
Official reports are only part of the picture. Families usually learn as much from how a provider behaves before care starts as from any assessment.
Notice whether the agency returns calls when it says it will, whether a manager offers to visit, and whether you are asked about your relative as a person. Ask how carers are trained and supervised, how often care plans are reviewed, and how complaints are handled. Ask to see a blank care plan or a sample of the visit records families receive.
Speak to people who have used the service if you can, and read reviews with care, looking for patterns rather than single comments. Once care begins, keep an eye on continuity: seeing the same small group of carers is one of the clearest signs that an agency is well run.
If something does go wrong, raise it with the provider first. If that does not resolve it, the council that commissions the care, the CQC or the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman may be able to help, depending on the issue.
Responsiveness before care starts
Training, supervision and care plan reviews
How complaints are handled
Continuity of carers once care begins
Questions to ask a provider
When you speak to an agency, it is reasonable to ask whether it has had a council quality assessment, when it was, and whether you can see the summary. Ask the same about its most recent CQC inspection. A provider that is confident in its quality will usually be happy to talk through both.
Reedsfield Care is a home care agency based in Egham and rated Good by the CQC. Our CQC report is on our website, and you are welcome to ask us any of these questions on 01784 740078.
Frequently asked questions
What does PAMMS stand for?
Provider Assessment and Market Management Solution, a quality assessment tool used by many English councils.
Is a PAMMS assessment the same as a CQC inspection?
No. CQC is the national regulator. PAMMS is a council's own quality check on services it commissions.
Where can I find a PAMMS report?
Many councils publish summaries through a PAMMS provider portal. You can also ask the provider or the council directly.
Does every care provider have a PAMMS report?
No. Councils usually assess services they commission, so some providers will not have one.
Does a good PAMMS result mean I do not need to read the CQC report?
No. Read both. The CQC report is the national regulator's view and applies to every registered service, while a PAMMS report reflects one council's own check on services it commissions.
How often are PAMMS assessments carried out?
It varies by council and by service. Councils decide their own schedules, and may assess more often where they have concerns. Check the date on any report you read.
