Highlights
• Staff exhibit feelings of anxiety amid potential increased client mortality.
• COVID-19 increased helplessness and frustration among staff in addiction support.
• Reduced low-threshold services may have implications for client mortality rates.
• Professional relationships with clients have been strained by COVID-19.
• COVID-19 has intensified self-questioning in the event of a service user death.

Conclusion: This paper highlights some areas of concern to address for future service delivery and presents opportunities to future-proof services as the world moves toward hybrid models of working. The inflexibility of service provision during the pandemic and the digital divide due to public health measures pushed marginalized groups further into the margins, with significant implications for practitioner occupational well-being due to feelings of anxiety, powerlessness, and concern for mortality of clients. This study collects a broad scope of experiences across disciplines in health care and demonstrates how professionals navigated unprecedented circumstances.