Dr. Nur Hafizah binti Abdullah

Dr. Nur Hafizah binti Abdullah is a consultant psychiatrist at RIPAS Hospital (Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Hospital) in Bandar Seri Begawan — Brunei's national referral hospital and the country's primary center for psychiatric services. With 13 years of psychiatry practice, she provides comprehensive mental health care in a setting that reflects Brunei's unique blend of Islamic cultural values and modern evidence-based medical practice.

Brunei's small population and high income per capita means the country offers a well-resourced national healthcare system, and RIPAS Hospital serves as the sole provider of specialist inpatient psychiatric services in the country. Dr. Nur Hafizah leads the psychiatric outpatient clinic and participates in inpatient consultations across the hospital, as well as child and adolescent psychiatry services.

She trained in the United Kingdom and Singapore, completing MRCPsych (Royal College of Psychiatrists, UK) and a Master of Medicine in Psychiatry at the National University of Singapore — the standard postgraduate pathway for Bruneian specialists. She brings evidence-based psychiatric practice shaped by both UK and Singapore training to Brunei's healthcare context, with particular sensitivity to the cultural and religious dimensions of mental health in a Malay-Muslim majority society.

Dr. Nur Hafizah completed her MBBS at the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur — the established training pathway for Bruneian medical students before the University of Brunei Darussalam Medical School's recent establishment. She subsequently pursued psychiatry specialty training in the United Kingdom, completing the Royal College of Psychiatrists MRCPsych examination, and gained further specialist training through the Master of Medicine in Psychiatry program at the National University of Singapore.

She returned to Brunei where she has been a member of the RIPAS Hospital psychiatry team, bringing international specialist standards to Brunei's mental health services. She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (UK) and participates in continuing psychiatric education through ASEAN regional psychiatry networks.

Dr. Nur Hafizah provides comprehensive psychiatric assessment and management for adults and adolescents. Her general psychiatry practice covers major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia with evidence-based psychopharmacological treatment. She manages anxiety disorders including generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and social anxiety, and provides trauma-informed care for PTSD.

In child and adolescent psychiatry, she evaluates and manages ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, and childhood depression and anxiety. She is trained in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and applies structured psychological techniques within her psychiatric consultations. She oversees electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for treatment-resistant depression within RIPAS Hospital's clinical framework and manages substance use disorders including alcohol dependence. Culturally sensitive assessment incorporating Islamic perspectives on mental health is central to her practice.

Dr. Nur Hafizah consults in Malay and English and sees expatriate patients working in Brunei's oil and gas sector and government service, as well as patients from Brunei's small but active international community. RIPAS Hospital provides psychiatry services to Brunei's resident population including foreign nationals working in the country.

Video consultations are available on a limited basis for established patients or for second-opinion assessments for Bruneians living abroad. Brunei's universal healthcare system covers nationals; expatriates and international patients access services through insurance or self-pay arrangements.

Dr. Nur Hafizah is recognized within Brunei's medical community for her leadership in developing psychiatry services at RIPAS Hospital and for her advocacy for mental health awareness in Brunei. She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (UK) and contributes to ASEAN psychiatry networks. She has participated in regional mental health policy discussions focused on improving mental health literacy and service access in Brunei and the wider Southeast Asian region. She serves as a clinical supervisor for junior doctors rotating through RIPAS Hospital's psychiatry department.