“NEARLY a whole year of not hugging/kissing mum is breaking my heart” - that is the message from one Oxfordshire resident whose mother is in a care home.

The 'painful' testimonies of the families of those living in care homes throughout the pandemic has been shared to show the strain it has placed on relationships.

A report by Healthwatch Oxfordshire on the matter is due to be discussed by the county's Health and Wellbeing Board on Thursday (June 17).

Healthwatch, an independent health and social care watchdog, has been gathering testimony from people across Oxfordshire about their experience of visiting relatives in residential care between November 2020 and February this year.

The report found there is 'little consistency' across care homes for supporting relatives who are visiting, and that they often find it 'upsetting, challenging, distressing, stressful and frustrating due to the Covid-19 constraints'.

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Many care homes across the UK have had to restrict visiting to short time periods, and some have even placed physical barriers between residents and relatives so they cannot touch and inadvertently spread the infection.

But in Oxfordshire at least, this has led relatives to have 'intense feelings of loss, fear, and distress' and some believe their loved ones in care have become less physically and mentally healthy as a result of separation.

The report adds relatives are 'very positive about the carers looking after their loved ones' but sometimes feel sad or envious of the close relationships carers now have with their family members.