A doctor is in hospital after being shot in the head, allegedly by her estranged husband, who is also a doctor, in Summerstand, Port Elizabeth, over the weekend, police said on Monday.

Police spokesperson Capt Sandra Janse van Rensburg said the woman, 36, and her sister went to the house on Saturday morning to fetch some of her belongings, when they were attacked by her husband. 

"A shot was fired, injuring the woman in her head," Van Rensburg said.

The woman survived the shooting and was taken to hospital.

The attack occurred in front of the couple's three children.

A case of attempted murder has been opened.

HeraldLIVE reports that the 50-year-old husband, also a doctor, was admitted to a state hospital as a precaution after police found an empty syringe in the bedroom in which he had locked himself following the alleged shooting.

Following negotiations with police, he handed himself over and was arrested. He was then moved to hospital under police guard.

The wife is a doctor in Uitenhage and he is a doctor in Motherwell.

* In a separate incident in the city over the weekend, the body of a 30-year-old woman was found outside the complex she lived at in Walmer.

Van Rensburg said the woman had a gunshot wound to the head.

The motive for the murder was not yet known.

Police are investigating a case of murder.