The main referral hospital in the country is Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha (RIPAS) Hospital, located about 0.8 kilometres from the heart of the capital, Bandar Seri Begawan. RIPAS Hospital was officially opened in 1984, the same year the country gained independence. On opening, the hospital assumed the role of the Rumah Sakit Besar, Bandar Seri Begawan, which had become cramped and was no longer able to accommodate the nation’s growing medical and health needs.
The hospital consists of seven main blocks: Ward blocks; the Specialist Clinics block; the Plant and Engineering block; the Outpatients and State Lab block; the Sports Complex; the Transport Complex with jetty and helipad facilities; and the Women and Children’s Centre.
In terms of specialist training, some departments in RIPAS Hospital have been accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Royal College of Surgeons, United Kingdom since 1982. The hospital has also been accredited for basic specialist medical training by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health Clinic. In 2000, RIPAS Hospital gained further accreditation as a teaching hospital by Queensland University Hospital.
The RIPAS Hospital Women and Children’s Centre was officially opened in 2015. The centre is equipped with state of the art facilities and services for its Paediatric Ward, Obstetrics and Gynaecology Ward, Children’s Specialist Ward, General Paediatric Ward, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Special Care Baby Unit, Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, Oncology Ward, 13 suites of labour rooms, two operation rooms and a Gynaecology Ward.
Since 2015, the Accident and Emergency Department has also expanded in terms of area and equipment to provide high-quality care for patients who are in critical condition.
The department has three areas: the resuscitation area (yellow zone), urgent area (red zone) and nonurgent cases area (green zone). Following a renovation expansion project, each area had its equipment upgraded and space expanded, and a new emergency ward for children was introduced. The hospital’s main focus is to give the people of Brunei Darussalam high quality services sustainable by the government. RIPAS Hospital offers more than 15 clinical specialties, including the Medical Services Department, Surgical Services Department, Accident and Emergency Department, Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department, Neurosurgery Department and Orthopedic Department. RIPAS Hospital is a major teaching hospital in the country for doctors, medical students and nursing students. As the main referral hospital, RIPAS Hospital can draw on patients and specialists alike to help teach student doctors, medical officers and senior medical officers in a real working clinical environment, giving especially valuable insight to local student doctors.
Gleneagles JPMC is a joint venture between the Government of Brunei Darussalam and IHH Healthcare Berhad, one of the world’s largest listed healthcare operators. Equipped with state-of-the-art technology, Gleneagles JPMC is at the forefront of providing excellent cardiac care services. Since its inauguration in 2002, Gleneagles JPMC has grown rapidly and established itself as one of the leading cardiac centres in Borneo and in the region with the first coronary angiogram performed in 2003. Shortly after, it notched another milestone by performing the first open heart surgery followed by the first percutaneous coronary intervention.
The centre has achieved many other remarkable milestones including the introduction of the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) programme in 2010. Another milestone was the introduction of the CARTO electrophysiological mapping system for complex ablations in 2013 – the first system in Borneo, and one of the first systems in the region. The following year, Gleneagles JPMC performed the first case of LVAD implantation in Brunei and Borneo.
Gleneagles JPMC also begun performing complex procedures including transcatheter closure of PDA and ASD, electrophysiological ablation, and other comprehensive treatments such as implantation of watchman device and transcatheter aortic valve implantation.
Up until 2021, Gleneagles JPMC has performed over 16,000 angiograms, over 9,000 percutaneous coronary interventions and 2,959 heart surgeries.
In its pursue of clinical excellence, Gleneagles JPMC was awarded Joint Commission International’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Hospital Accreditation in 2020 by demonstrating continuous compliance with its internationally recognised standards. The Gold Seal of Approval® is a symbol of quality that reflects an organisation’s commitment to providing safe and effective patient care.
In addition, Gleneagles JPMC has also invested in the development of clinical expertise and leadership qualities among medical professionals in the country. Gleneagles JPMC embarked on a fellowship training programme for specialist doctors for subspecialty training and to develop nursing and allied health professionals. The medical centre has also sponsored local and international staff to attend courses and programmes abroad, including at Institut Jantung Negara (IJN) and Nanyang Polytechnic in Singapore.
During the medical centre’s 20th anniversary corporate dinner last year, Gleneagles JPMC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr Peter Tay in his welcoming remarks spoke on the history of Gleneagles JPMC.
Having started with less than 50 staff members, the centre now has over 200 including over 100 registered nurses and allied healthcare professionals recruited locally and from all over the world. In 2021, Gleneagles JPMC performed over 1,200 diagnostic angiograms, over 800 percutaneous interventions, more than 100 electrophysiological procedures and over 160 cardiac surgeries.
He also noted the clinical quality at Gleneagles JPMC through the Heart Team concept in the management of their patients, with weekly meetings between Gleneagles JPMC and the Ministry of Health (MoH) specialists to discuss cases, especially the management of more complex ones. The CEO attributed the medical centre’s success to the tireless contribution of its dedicated staff.
At the heart of providing professional care plus state-of-the-art tertiary cardiac care services all under one roof, greater awareness on cardiac health among the community is also integral to the centre’s establishment.
As part of its corporate social responsibility efforts, Gleneagles JPMC partnered with the Health Promotion Centre of MoH to advocate the importance of heart health and adopting healthy lifestyles through the Workplace and Health (WAH) and Happy Environment and Lifestyle (HEAL) programmes.
The WAH programme aims to increase awareness and the importance of healthy lifestyles and emphasises integrated action in the detection and prevention of non-communicable disease risk factors in the workplace.
Meanwhile, the HEAL Programme aims to support physical activity interventions in community settings through building, strengthening and maintaining social networks that create opportunities for physical activities.
Founded in 1992, Jerudong Park Medical Centre (JPMC) became the first hospital in Brunei Darussalam to receive the Joint Commission International (JCI) accreditation in 2014 and was re-accredited for the second time in 2017. JPMC maintained its accreditation in 2020 and was awarded its third JCI award by demonstrating continuous compliance with its internationally recognised criteria.
As a private specialist hospital, JPMC offers a spectrum of services including general, specialised and surgical healthcare with a team of highly qualified and committed multidisciplinary medical professionals using state-of-theart technology. JPMC also offers 29 clinical specialties and subspecialties, including endocrinology, gynaecology, nephrology, orthopaedics, paediatrics and implantology.
In July 2022, a joint venture agreement was signed between JPMC and Far Eastern University (FEU) of the Philippines to establish the first private health science college in Brunei. JPMC College of Health Sciences at Jalan Ong Sum Ping in Bandar Seri Begawan, offers Foundation in Science Certification and Bachelor of Science in Nursing. It is accredited by the Brunei Darussalam National Accreditation Council (BDNAC) and is endorsed by the Brunei Nursing Board.
With a strong tradition of working to improve the outcomes of patients through integrated clinical practice, innovation, cutting-edge research and new models of care, JPMC strives to continuously adapt to new medical challenges while providing top-notch patient care.
The Pantai Jerudong Specialist Centre (PJSC) is a healthcare specialist centre consisting of three centres: The Brunei Cancer Centre; Brunei Neuroscience Stroke and Rehabilitation Centre; and Maxillofacial, Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Centre. PJSC dedicates its resources to providing comprehensive checkups, consultations and treating patients with cancer, stroke and other neurological problems with the latest technology evidence based treatment, healthy sporting lifestyle advice and rehabilitation programmes. In addition to cancer and neuro-rehabilitation, PJSC also provides comprehensive rehabilitative programmes for musculoskeletal/sports, orthopedics and women’s health.
The rehabilitation services at PJSC include specialised equipment that can objectively measure, track and evaluate patients’ functional capacity to do work as well as help stimulate the action taken when doing tasks at their workplace as well as helping them practise these actions. PJSC also has certified disability management professionals (CDMP) who can facilitate patients’ physical recovery, rehabilitation, and return-to-work process while seeking to control the escalating costs of injury or impairment, disability, and absence from work.
In January 2020, the centre signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Southern TOHOKU Hospital Group (STHG) of Japan to enhance its healthcare services, in line with its vision of becoming a leading and innovative specialised medical centre especially in the field of cancer and its treatment.
Established in 2009, The Brunei Cancer Centre (TBCC) is dedicated to cancer diagnosis, treatment, education and research. It houses five departments: Medical Oncology, Radiation Oncology, Palliative Care, Nuclear Medicine and Early Detection and Cancer Prevention Services.
The Medical Oncology Department offers treatment including chemotherapy, endocrine therapy, targetted therapy and immunotherapy. In recent years, the department has provided a personalised treatment approach through molecular genotyping of tumour to deliver the most appropriate treatment for patients.
The establishment of Radiation Oncology in 2016 and Nuclear Medicine in 2017 at PJSC has enabled patients to receive radiotherapy and radionuclide imaging/therapy locally. Apart from conventional radiotherapy, stereotactic radiosurgery and stereotactic body radiation therapy, the Radiation Oncology Department recently incorporated transperineal prostate biopsy to detect early prostate cancer and brachytherapy treatment.
Early Detection and Cancer Prevention Services were established in 2019. The department offers education, risk-assessment, cancer screening including genetic testing, and counselling on early detection of cancer and prevention strategies. TBCC became a member of the Union for International Cancer Control in 2020, joining forces with other nations in reducing global cancer burden.
The Brunei Neuroscience Stroke and Rehabilitation Centre (BNSRC) provides treatment for diseases of the nervous system including stroke, epilepsy, diseases of the spine and spinal cord, neurodegenerative disorders as well as extensive rehabilitative services. BNSRC was established in 2010 as a highly specialised stroke facility by JPMC in partnership with a centre in Germany. From 2016, it has established state-of-the-art premises within the PJSC.
Since 2018, BNSRC has merged with the Divisions of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Rehabilitation (Rehabilitation) under the Ministry of Health to provide specialised treatment to a wider range of neurological and rehabilitative conditions apart from stroke. In 2019, BNSRC had 1,257 admissions and saw over 24,000 outpatients. The comprehensive acute stroke services on offer include stroke thrombolysis and thrombectomy, neuro-intensive care, neurosurgical services and access to neuroradiology and multidisciplinary stroke rehabilitation. The centre offers treatment for other acute conditions such as meningitis, multiple sclerosis, Guillain-Barre Syndrome as well as chronic conditions such as headaches, migraine, epilepsy, myasthenia gravis, muscular dystrophy, dementia and Parkinson’s disease.
Neurosurgical treatments on offer include spinal surgery, vascular disorders as well as treatment of brain and spinal tumours. Rehabilitative services include brain and spinal cord injury, amputee rehabilitation, cancer rehabilitation, women’s health and musculoskeletal and sports rehabilitation.
The Maxillofacial, Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Centre (MFPRSC) offers services in the field of maxillofacial, facial plastic, reconstructive surgery, and head and neck surgical oncology. It also offers outpatient care, surgical and laser treatments, craniomaxillofacial prosthetics and reconstructive implantology services.
With its C6 Medlite Laser, the centre offers treatment for face rejuvenation, pigmentation, tattoo removal and hair removal. Meanwhile, its VBeam Pulse Dyed Laser treats scars, angiomas, AV malformation and port wine stains.
In addition to housing a 3D printing laboratory, the centre also offers training courses such as the Advanced Training in Cranio- Maxillofacial Surgery Trauma. Other courses include the Advanced Diploma in Neuro/Plastic/Cranio- Maxillofacial/Microvascular Surgical Nursing and Diploma for Operation Theatre Assistants, Nursing Student Affiliation, and Training. Internships are also available for medical, dental and nursing students.
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