Count syringes in a tray from a photo

Counting syringes in drawers, trays and supply boxes

Clinical stores, wards and clinics count syringes at goods-in against the supply order, when restocking carts and when preparing procedure packs. Loose syringes in a drawer jumble together, so lay them side by side in one layer on a tray and shoot from directly above; syringes still in peel packs can be laid out the same way.

Transparent barrels on a white tray are faint, so a colored or dark surface helps. Peel-pack film throws glare; tilt the tray away from the ceiling light until the shine moves off. Barrels of different sizes often share one drawer, so mark one example of each size, up to three, and include the cap or needle guard inside the box so the counter matches the whole syringe, not just the barrel. Sealed boxes of syringes are better counted as boxes with a box count multiplied by the quantity printed on each box.

Record each drawer or cart as a tally row and keep the CSV for the audit trail, which still needs your usual sign-off. Ampoules for the same cart are covered on the ampoule counter, and lab tubes on the test tube counter.