Sensory Experience Café

Sensory Café Captures Customers ‘Experiencing’ Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Symptoms

Captivating video unveiled to show the day-to-day impact of living with MS

A sensory-experience café popped-up on Exchequer Street, Dublin 2 on Wednesday, 28th March, to give customers a truly impactful insight into the everyday challenges of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). This thought-provoking video shows their reactions and interactions in the MSunderstood Café.

The experiential Café aimed to give customers a taste of MS to highlight the urgent need for improved access to medicine and for the management of MS. Over 9,000 people are living with MS in Ireland, with thousands more family members affected, yet Ireland faces the worst access delays to new medicines in Western Europe. 

Speaking at the opening Karen Hynes, who lives with MS, said “This MSunderstood Café means the world to me as it shows a day in the life that I go through on a daily basis.”

The experiment involved replacing the menu boards, coffee mugs, floors and furniture with specially-created materials and followed customers as they tried to enjoy their coffee break. The simulated environment was created with people with MS to ensure all aspects of the café were as true to life as possible. 

The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Ireland (MS Ireland), in partnership with Roche, opened the Café as people with MS (PwMS) need, expect and deserve quick access to new and effective treatments through a fair and sustainable system. A new website - PatientsDeserveBetter.ie - was also launched to help those affected by MS demand quick and better access to new medicine. 

Watch the full video to see people’s reactions to visiting the MSunderstood Café.

Follow #MSunderstood for more information.

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