Former Nightingale chief executive Leon Smith will leave the organisation next week after 42 years' service.

He joined the Clapham home in an administrative role after a year on kibbutz, serving as CEO from 1998 to 2013. More recently, he has been executive vice-president, focusing primarily on fundraising.

Mr Smith oversaw the "complex" merger with Hammerson House in north London and many Nightingale building projects, "transforming the accommodation from fairly antiquated and institutional to where much of the home has more of a hotel feel".