Dedicated platform supports day surgery expansion across the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Abu Dhabi, October 2026: Burjeel Holdings, a leading super-specialty healthcare services provider in the GCC, has brought its four day surgery centers in the UAE together under a dedicated business vertical, establishing a unified structure to support the next phase of growth in ambulatory and same-day care. As part of the move, Mr. Arun Lobo has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Pawan Sharma as Chief Financial Officer, and Dr. Omer Baldo as Chief Medical Officer of the platform.
In the UAE, Burjeel currently operates Burjeel Day Surgery Center, Al Reem Island; Burjeel Day Surgery Center, Shahama; Burjeel Day Surgery Center, Al Dhafra; and Burjeel Day Surgery Center, Al Dhahir, Al Ain.
The move comes as the Group prepares to expand its day surgery footprint. Its current mid-term plan includes four additional centers in the UAE and two in Saudi Arabia, creating a broader regional platform for ambulatory and same-day care.
Building a Scalable Day Surgery Business:
The four centers will operate under common clinical and operational oversight, with unified financial management and clear accountability for quality, patient experience, growth and financial performance. Burjeel’s day surgery model has demonstrated strong demand and operating efficiency in the UAE, with mature centers delivering EBITDA margins among the highest across the Group’s healthcare assets. The new structure is designed to build on this performance through standardized clinical pathways, better capacity utilization, stronger procurement and workforce planning, and greater visibility over costs and profitability.
The model also supports more effective allocation of care across Burjeel’s network. Elective and minimally invasive procedures that do not require an overnight stay can be delivered in dedicated same-day settings, releasing theatre and bed capacity at larger hospitals for complex tertiary and quaternary care. This creates the potential to enhance returns on Burjeel’s existing hospital base while adding a high-margin growth engine of its own.
A Replicable Model for Regional Expansion:
The dedicated platform provides Burjeel with a repeatable operating model for future growth, including greenfield development and partnerships in the UAE and selected GCC markets. New centers can operate within a common framework for clinical quality, financial management, and performance measurement while adapting to local demand and specialty requirements. Developed healthcare markets increasingly deliver elective surgery as day cases, and the UAE’s healthcare agenda is moving decisively in the same direction. With one of the country’s largest dedicated day surgery networks and a clear expansion pipeline, Burjeel is investing to bring this model of care closer to patients.
Each center will operate as part of Burjeel’s wider network rather than in isolation, drawing on the Group’s hospitals, clinics and consultant base while maintaining access to tertiary and quaternary facilities for patients who require more advanced care.
The planned day surgery expansion forms part of Burjeel’s broader 18-asset mid-term growth program across multiple healthcare segments in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC, as the Group continues to build specialized healthcare platforms alongside its hospital network. In Saudi Arabia, each Burjeel One day surgery center requires approximately AED 140 million of capex and is expected to generate over AED 200 million in annual revenue at maturity, with a mid-20s EBITDA margin.
Dedicated Leadership and Accountability:
Commenting on the announcement, Dr. Shamsheer Vayalil, Chairman and CEO of Burjeel Holdings, said: “Day surgery is not simply an extension of the traditional hospital model. It has its own operating dynamics, capital requirements, and growth potential. Our existing centers have given us a strong foundation in the UAE and bringing them together as one business gives us the structure and accountability to scale the model further.
As we plan to expand, this platform will allow us to deliver appropriate procedures in a more focused same-day setting while directing the capabilities of our major hospitals toward increasingly complex care. Arun, Pawan and Omer will bring clear operational, financial and clinical leadership to this next phase of growth.”
As CEO, Mr. Arun Lobo will lead the platform’s strategy, operations, clinical performance and expansion. His appointment expands his responsibilities from his current role as Senior Director – Operations.
As CFO, Mr. Pawan Sharma will oversee financial strategy, planning, governance, performance management and capital allocation. He currently serves as Cluster Finance Manager.
As CMO, Dr. Omer Baldo, currently Consultant, Urology, will lead clinical strategy, medical governance, quality outcomes, patient safety and physician engagement across the platform.
Together, the leadership team will be accountable for growth, profitability, capital efficiency and returns across the platform.
