Operations have been cancelled at Manchester’s four main hospitals after a mains leak cut the water supply.

Only cancer-related and urgent operations were taking place on Monday morning, and patients were asked not to flush toilets and to wash their hands using antiseptic gel. Bedpans have been handed out and bottled water was available to drink.

The hospitals affected are Manchester Royal infirmary, Manchester Royal Eye hospital, St Mary’s hospital, and Royal Manchester Children’s hospital.

All outpatient services should run as normal.

One woman told the Manchester Evening News that patients had been given sanitary towels to clean themselves. The woman, whose three-day-old daughter was in the neonatal intensive care unit at St Mary’s, said: “It’s ridiculous, there is no cleanliness, no hygiene. On my ward we’ve been given sanitary towels to clean ourselves.

“All of the patients have only been given a small bottle of water each; it’s not enough, we need to keep our breast milk up. We can’t sterilise anything, we’re not allowed to use the dishwashers – I can’t even boil water to sterilise my equipment to express milk.”

Engineers have been working to fix the burst water main on Oxford Road, which has affected water supply across the M13 and M14 postcode areas since the early hours of Sunday.

At 2.20am on Monday, United Utilities (UU) said the leak had been fixed but that water supplies may not return to normal pressure until they had “reversed the redistribution of water back to its normal configuration”.

Three hours later, the company issued another statement to say it had found another leak on nearby Moss Lane East. UU mobile water tankers have been deployed to help maintain supply.

In a statement on Sunday, the hospital trust said: “Manchester University NHS foundation trust is currently experiencing problems with its water supply due to a mains leak off site. We are urging patients not to attend these hospitals for the time being unless there is an urgent clinical need.

“We are cancelling all operations planned for [Monday] morning as a precaution, apart from cancer and any urgent operations. We will be endeavouring to contact all patients affected this evening. These operations will be rescheduled as soon as possible.”