Poster Presentation: Awards

Objectives: Patients in palliative care experience significant psychiatric comorbidities often underrecognised and undertreated.This negatively impacts palliative care outcomes, with patients reporting higher symptom burden, greater functional impairment, lower quality-of-life and increased healthcare utilisation.Psychiatrists in interdisciplinary teams can contribute uniquely to the care of these patients and their caregivers.This audit aims to analyse the characteristics of psychiatric referrals in an inpatient hospice. Materials and Methods:A retrospective audit of medical records of inpatients referred for psychiatric consultation in the hospice was analysed from January 1, 2024, to July 31, 2024.Descriptive statistics was used to summarise data. Results:Of the 595 patients, 20 (3.4%) were referred for psychiatric evaluation, indicating low referral rates.The mean age was 44 11.3; 50% were male; 45% were married and 55% belonged to the lower-income group with head-and-neck cancer being the predominant site.55% had a history of psychiatric illness and 55% had substance use disorder.The mean distress thermometer score was 6.Major psychiatric diagnoses were delirium (35%), depression (25%) and adjustment disorder (20%).30% of those referred had suicidal ideation, and 50% expressed a desire for hastened death.The mean time from admission to referral was 92 days, from referral to death 25 days, with 50% lost to follow-up.Haloperidol, mirtazapine and midazolam were the commonly prescribed psychotropics. Conclusion:This audit highlights the low referral rates to psychiatry and a pattern of late referrals, suggesting gaps in timely mental health support, which has the potential to impact the quality of life and death adversely.