Neelam Dhingra

Dr Neelam Dhingra is Coordinator for the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Unit, in the Service Delivery and Safety Department at the World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. In this role, Dr Dhingra leads WHO’s efforts at providing strategic leadership on patient safety and quality improvement within the context of improving people-centred integrated health services delivery and strengthening system for safety and quality of health services globally, and coordinates WHO’s work for improvement of safety and quality of health care, including global safety partnerships, injection safety, safety and quality tools and checklists, patient and family engagement and patients for patient safety, infection prevention and control and patient safety and quality education and training. Since joining WHO in 2000, Dr Dhingra had been providing strategic leadership and facilitating multi-country support for strengthening the delivery and safety of transfusion and laboratory services, as part of the broader health care system. Prior to joining WHO, Dr Dhingra served as a medical faculty in a large, tertiary care University Teaching hospital in New Delhi, India for 14 years, also heading the clinical pathology, blood transfusion and laboratory services. She obtained her medical graduation and post-graduation qualifications from New Delhi and fellowships in the UK as a haematologist, laboratory and transfusion medicine expert. Dr Dhingra’s areas of expertise are policy and strategy formulation; safety and quality of health services; vigilance, reporting and learning  systems; quality and risk management systems; patient and community engagement; and assessments, monitoring, evaluation and operational research, among others.