Background: Delivery of person-centred fundamental care continues to be challenged by barriers in the care context. The Fundamentals of Care framework has been described by clinical nurses as a practical, easy to understand tool, towards meeting patients’ fundamental care needs. Further empirical exploration of what and how contextual factors affect care provision within a complex surgical context is warranted to increase the framework’s use in clinical practice. Aim: To explore how factors in the complex aortic surgical care context can affect care provision towards patients’ postoperative recovery. Methods: Results about patients’ recovery after complex aortic surgery from a patient perspective were presented in focus groups with registered nurses, vascular surgeons and nursing assistants, which explored their experiences with what could improve patient recovery. Data from these focus groups were reanalysed, using reflexive thematic analysis, with the Fundamentals of Care framework as deductive lens, to explore the healthcare professionals descriptions of contextual factors affecting care provision. Results: Healthcare professionals’ described contextual factors at a policy, system and individual level, which resulted in one main theme: Care provision is challenged by discrepancies in values, goals and norms and unclear responsibilities within the context, and two subthemes:Values, goals and norms determine what care is provided; Taking responsibility for care requires resources, evaluation and feedback. Conclusion: Healthcare professionals describe care provision as affected by a dynamic integration of contextual factors. Healthcare professionals need to be made aware of their own role in this context. Healthcare professionals, leaders and policy makers all have a responsibility to focus on patients’ values and goals, and empower adequate care through feedback loops and resource management. Care provision needs to be guided by feedback from patients and healthcare professionals, and work with patients’ resources at both an individual, system and societal level.