Inside the Adult Mental Health Inpatient Unit at Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital is a room unlike other clinical rooms: mood lighting, teddy bears, sequin-weighted pillows and aromatherapy scents.

Outside are massage chairs and iPads for selecting music – some of the most popular tools Occupational Therapist Amy Spears uses with her mental health consumers in their therapy.

The sensory stimulation therapy aides are used to help consumers be calm and comfortable, as well as de-escalate highly anxious or agitated consumers.

"Supplying sensory tools like these is about empowering individuals with coping skills they can take home with them," said Amy.

"The massage chairs are really helpful with acute patients and it is great to be able to offer them a massage chair and see them physically relax."

But none of this would have been possible so soon without the help of an NSLHD Innovation Pitch grant.

Amy applied for a pitch grant last year and while it did take some time for her to do the application, she said it was well worth it.

For any teams or individuals thinking of applying, Amy’s advice is: "It’s definitely worth it. It did take a little bit of extra work but the benefits are still going."