Background and Objectives Patients at the end of life often experience psychological and/or spiritual distress. This study explored the involvement of psychosocial and spiritual care teams in the care of palliative care inpatients at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (PMCC) in Melbourne, Australia.

Methods Medical records of palliative care inpatients at PMCC during 2022 were reviewed to extract their demographic and clinical details; Palliative Care Problem Severity Score – Psychological/Spiritual (PCPSS-PS); referral to and contact with Clinical Psychology (CP), Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry (CL), Social Work (SW) or Spiritual Care (SC) teams. Data analysis utilised descriptive statistics.

Results Palliative care teams cared for 766 patients (47% female) over 1017 admissions (median age 65 years, IQR 52–75). Death occurred in 42% of admissions. A history of mental illness was documented in 16%, although 27% had been in contact with CP and/or CL teams prior to admission.

Psychological/spiritual distress was rated as mild (47%) or moderate (22%) during most admissions. Severe distress was rare (1%).

Referrals were made to at least one psychosocial or spiritual care team during most admissions (69%): CP (11%), CL (11%), SW (58%) and/or SC (28%). Contact with at least one psychosocial/spiritual care team occurred during most admissions (85%): CP (8%), CL (12%), SW (56%) and/or SC (75%).

Discussion and Implications Significant psychological/spiritual distress is uncommon among palliative care inpatients at PMCC. Despite this, contact with at least one psychosocial/spiritual care team occurred during most admissions.