 According to public health policy in the UK, healthcare professionals are encouraged to support patients to make healthy behavioural choices, whether that's getting more exercise or deciding to quit smoking. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed healthcare around the world, including how healthcare professionals engage with this policy and subsequently provide patient care. So just how has the pandemic altered these efforts? To find out, researchers analysed testimonies from healthcare professionals on the front lines. Their findings reveal that despite creating many new barriers, the COVID-19 pandemic has created unique opportunities to help healthcare professionals deliver behaviour change interventions to their patients. The team conducted 25 telephone interviews in January of 2022 with a range of patient-facing healthcare professionals. These included nurses, physiotherapists, dieticians, doctors and midwives. Among these conversations, the researchers identified two recurring themes – the healthcare system's response to COVID-19 and maintaining good relationships with patients. Regarding the effects on the healthcare system, interviewees reported negative impacts on the general work environment, services provided and communication with patients, but also a lack of training to deliver behaviour change interventions, which was already inadequate pre-pandemic and was then non-existent during. The shift toward telemedicine, for example, has created new challenges in connecting with patients. Healthcare professionals may find themselves consulting with patients remotely. A lack of private or extended one-on-ones can make it difficult to sufficiently address the patient's primary need for consultation, let alone their possible need for a behavioural intervention. Combine that with short staffing and heavy workloads, and it's not hard to see how the pandemic has hampered the ability to deliver behaviour change interventions. But it hasn't been all negative. In some cases, healthcare professionals have become creative in finding ways to connect with patients. Some reported offering behaviour change advice and services such as blood pressure checks and smear tests during the 15-minute waiting period following COVID-19 vaccination. And while phone calls may make it challenging to address certain patient needs, some interviewees said that they could also make for more honest and open conversations than would be had in person. Under the second theme of relationships with patients, healthcare professionals repeatedly cited reluctance and responsibility as barriers to offering behaviour change advice. Worries about causing offence, especially in relation to patients' weight, appear to be as prevalent through the pandemic as they were before. In addition, healthcare professionals who aren't general practitioners often wonder whether they are in the right position to offer advice in the first place. These findings offer valuable insight into areas where healthcare professionals can improve delivery of behaviour change interventions, providing training and support on how to broach topics about personal health, for example, and creating virtual environments conducive to meaningful exchange are just a few ways to start making positive changes. As researchers gather more information across the broader population, they are likely to find even more solutions that could help healthcare professionals deliver behaviour change interventions to their patients.