Water shortages have led to the cancellation of nearly 400 surgical operations in 16 Gauteng public hospitals in six months this year.

Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko revealed this in the Gauteng legislature on Tuesday in a written reply to a question from the Democratic Alliance's Jack Bloom.

Bloom had asked how many operations had to be cancelled or deferred because of water shortages, and which hospitals had experienced water challenges this year.

According to Nkomo-Ralehoko, Pholosong Hospital on the East Rand had the most cancelled operations.

"The six water failures at Pholosong Hospital led to 127 cancelled and 36 deferred operations. It was followed by Edenvale Regional hospital with 117 operations, which was a result of no water. This sometimes lasted for as long as a week," she said. 

She said Helen Joseph Hospital had experienced water supply challenges from March to September this year, which resulted in the cancellation of 36 operations.

"Kalafong Hospital had major water shortages from 28 January to 9 September," she said, but staff implemented measures to avoid cancelling surgeries.

Nkomo-Ralehoko said some hospitals experienced internal reticulation problems.

"Pipe leaks happen when the municipality returns the water at high pressure after a shutdown," Nkomo-Ralehoko said. 

She said the department was considering a sustainable water and electricity supply initiative to ensure water security at all Gauteng public hospitals.

"All hospitals will have tankers and boreholes, rainwater harvesting, and grey water reuse with water purification plans per facility. These are in addition to the normal water from local government through the normal water supply system or water tankers," Nkomo-Ralehoko added.

Bloom said the department said hospitals should have a minimum of 48 hours of water storage, but this did not prevent water disruptions.

"One problem is that some hospitals do not have water pumps to get water to higher floors, and low-pressure water is a problem at Tembisa and Edenvale hospitals," he said. 

He added that better maintenance should also be a priority because leaking pipes aggravate the problem.