Table 1.

Background characteristics of case study hospitals

	Hospital 1	Hospital 2
Characteristics	Large public sector, tertiary hospital rendering specialised and highly specialised services upon referral from other hospitals and/or clinics. One of 10 central hospitals in South Africa, part of an academic health complex, and a teaching hospital for one of the country's eight medical schools. Located in a city, close to the central business district.	Large public sector, regional hospital rendering specialised, secondary-level services. One of the regional teaching hospitals for one of the country's eight medical schools. Located in a densely populated, socio-economically disadvantaged residential area (known as a township), characterised by a large number of foreigners and informal settlements.
Number of beds	832	840
Managers interviewed	CEO, nursing service manager, maternity unit manager, finance and human resource managers	CEO, nursing service manager, critical care unit manager, finance and human resource managers
Utilisation of agency nurses	Yes	Yesa
Types of agency nurses utilised	Professional nurses only (4 years training)	Professional and enrolled nurses (2 years training)
Clinical areas that utilise agency nurses	Maternity and critical care units	Throughout hospital
Reported frequency of use	Every day	Every day

^aAt the time of the research, Hospital 2 had stopped using agency nurses because of cash flow problems.