On February 8, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. The Vitebsk Regional Diagnostic Centre received medical equipment for the centre's audiology and speech therapy department as a gift today from the Embassy of the Republic of Poland and the public charitable organisation for hearing and speech assistance "Verbalik", reports a BELTA correspondent. As the chief physician of the diagnostic centre Vladimir Orekhva told journalists, the department received an impedance audiometer, a system for recording auditory evoked potentials and otoacoustic emissions Eclipse. The equipment is manufactured in Denmark, and its cost is over 40 thousand euros. The diagnostic devices allow for a comprehensive expert assessment of hearing status in the shortest possible time without travelling to Minsk to the Republican Scientific and Practical Centre for Otorhinolaryngology, as well as for the rehabilitation of children with hearing impairment from the neonatal period: to determine indications for hearing aids, surgical treatment, and to carry out hearing re-education. "The equipment will contribute to improving the quality of medical care in the Vitebsk region, and will allow for the most complete implementation of the audiological screening system for young children. And most importantly, it will lead to the timely integration of children with hearing impairment into society," emphasised Vladimir Orekhva. Leszek Szerepka, the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to Belarus, who participated in the ceremony, announced that in Vitebsk, the embassy, together with the public charitable organisation "Verbalik", has implemented the second project within the framework of the small grants programme. The first project was implemented in Gomel in 2010. At that time, medical equipment for the Gomel Central City Children's Polyclinic worth over 54 thousand euros was purchased. As the ambassador noted, the choice of Vitebsk for the implementation of the second project was not accidental. The Vitebsk region provided assistance to Poland during the tragic time when the plane carrying the head of the Polish state and high-ranking officials crashed near Smolensk. At Vitebsk Airport, planes with government officials and relatives of the deceased were met and then transported by road to the crash site, Leszek Szerepka recalled. "Everything was organised at a high level. This is a touching moment that we remember," he added.