The Royal Free Hampstead Hospital charity, which is merging with Friends of the Royal Free Hospital charity, has appointed Chris Burghes as its new chief executive.

Burghes (pictured), who joins from the Fire Fighters Charity, said the upcoming merger of the Royal Free Charity (t/o £5.7m) with Friends of the Royal Free Hospital (t/o £132,566) would make it easier for staff to acquire funding as it introduced a more transparent process for grant-giving.

A Royal Free Hospital spokeswoman added that the merger would remove existing confusion, for both patients and staff, in having two charities with a similar focus. It would also streamline both fundraising and grant-making activities while providing savings in administration.

The Friends name will still exist within the Royal Free charity. There will be a Friends’ Fund which will be used to continue support of patient amenities, the traditional focus of the Friends’ activities.