When Rathbone's first wife Lucretia was dying in 1859, the care given by a nurse, prompted him to campaign for a system of district nursing to enable the poor to benefit from similar care. The involvement of Florence Nightingale led to a close friendship. In 1862, the Liverpool Training School and Home for Nurses was established, from which basis a district nursing system was implemented in Liverpool through the 1860s and spread throughout the country. His involvement with this scheme also made him aware of the poor state of the workhouse hospitals, and he did much to assist in the reform of nursing in workhouses.