Agency nursing in South Africa

At what cost?

Little is known about the costs and characteristics of nursing agencies, globally or in South Africa. These agencies are employment service providers for supplying nurses on a part-time basis to health establishments. In a series of three studies, researchers explore the characteristics of nursing agencies in South Africa, their utilisation, and the direct and indirect costs of using agency nurses in the public sector. These studies are among the first to focus on the nursing agency industry in South Africa. No comparable studies of nursing agency expenditure were found in other low-and middle-income settings, and the focus on indirect costs of agency nurses is unique. Click here to read more about this ground-breaking work.