 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 enquiry into the work of breast surgeon Ian Paterson in Birmingham in 2013.