Kennedy has been a member of numerous committees and inquiries. In 1997, he took part in a
UK Government inquiry that gave cautious approval to
xenotransplantation (the use of animal-to-human transplants), and in 1998, was a member of the committee that recommended
pet passports. Kennedy was a member of the
Nuffield Council on Bioethics 1991–2002 and Chair during 1998–2002. Kennedy is a trustee of homeless health charity Pathway. He chaired the public inquiry into children's heart surgery at the
Bristol Royal Infirmary (1998–2001), which concluded that paediatric cardiac surgery services at Bristol were "simply not up to the task", because of shortages of key surgeons and nurses, and a lack of leadership, accountability, and teamwork. This resulted in his becoming chair of the
Healthcare Commission, from its creation (in shadow form) in 2003, until it was merged with other regulatory bodies to form the
Care Quality Commission in 2009. In October 2009, Kennedy became chair of the
King's Fund's inquiry into the quality of general practice in England, replacing
Niall Dickson. He led an inquiry into the work of breast surgeon
Ian Paterson in Birmingham in 2013. ==Involvement in medicine and alternative medicine==