PAMMS Ratings: The Hidden Score That’s Shaping Your NHS Contract Success
While health and social care providers across the UK focus intensively on CQC ratings and service quality metrics, there’s another scoring system quietly influencing their contract opportunities – one that many don’t even know exists.
PAMMS (Procurement Analytics and Market Management System) ratings are increasingly becoming the silent gatekeeper to public sector opportunities, yet research suggests that over 60% of health and social care providers remain unaware of their PAMMS score or how it impacts their tender success.
With NHS procurement teams under mounting pressure to demonstrate supplier performance and value for money, understanding PAMMS is no longer optional – it’s essential for sustainable growth in the public healthcare market.
What Exactly Is PAMMS?
PAMMS is the government’s comprehensive supplier performance monitoring system, designed to track and rate how well contractors deliver on their public sector commitments. Every contract you complete with an NHS trust, clinical commissioning group, or local authority contributes data to your PAMMS profile.
The system monitors five core areas: quality of service delivery, adherence to delivery timescales, innovation and added value, social value contributions, and overall commercial performance. Each area receives individual scoring, which combines to create your overall PAMMS rating.
Unlike CQC ratings, PAMMS scores aren’t publicly visible – they’re accessed directly by procurement teams during supplier evaluation processes. This invisibility contributes significantly to the widespread lack of awareness among providers about their own performance scores.
Understanding the Rating System
PAMMS operates on a 1-10 scoring scale, with 7 and above considered good performance. However, the system is more nuanced than a simple average score.
Recent performance carries more weight than historical data, meaning a few poor contract deliveries can quickly damage years of solid performance. Conversely, consistent recent improvements can help recover from past issues relatively quickly.
Contract size and complexity also influence scoring impact. A large NHS framework delivery will affect your rating more significantly than a smaller local authority contract, reflecting the greater risk and responsibility involved.
Geographic and sector-specific scoring provides additional granularity. Your PAMMS rating may vary between different regions or types of healthcare services, allowing commissioners to assess your track record in their specific area of interest.
Why Health and Social Care Providers Overlook PAMMS
The biggest barrier is simply awareness. Unlike CQC inspections or financial audits, there’s no formal notification process when your PAMMS score changes. Many providers only discover their rating exists when questioned about it during a tender process.
Contract management teams often operate separately from business development functions within healthcare organisations. The staff responsible for contract delivery may not realise their performance directly impacts future tender opportunities.
PAMMS feedback isn’t automatic or standardised. While commissioners can provide PAMMS performance information, they’re not required to do so proactively. This means providers may be unaware they’re receiving poor scores until significant damage has occurred.
The healthcare sector traditionally focuses on clinical outcomes rather than commercial performance metrics. This clinical excellence focus, while admirable, can create blind spots around the commercial requirements that PAMMS measures.
The Growing Importance of PAMMS Performance
NHS procurement is becoming increasingly data-driven. Commissioning teams now have access to comprehensive supplier performance histories, making it easier to identify reliable partners and avoid underperforming contractors.
Framework agreements routinely include PAMMS considerations. Major health and social care frameworks are beginning to reference PAMMS performance in their evaluation criteria, particularly for contract extensions and direct awards.
Social value requirements are intensifying across all public sector contracts. PAMMS social value scoring provides commissioners with concrete evidence of supplier commitment to community benefits.
Taking PAMMS Seriously
For health and social care providers serious about sustainable public sector growth, PAMMS can no longer remain an unknown quantity. Understanding your current rating, actively managing your performance, and treating PAMMS as seriously as any other quality metric is becoming essential for competitive advantage.
Don’t let an invisible scoring system limit your visible success. Contact our bid experts to discover your PAMMS rating and learn how to transform this overlooked metric into a powerful tool for tender success.
