  Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, many healthcare facilities have
suffered from shortages in medical resources, particularly in Personal
Protective Equipment (PPE). In this paper, we propose a game-theoretic approach
to schedule PPE orders among healthcare facilities. In this PPE game, each
independent healthcare facility optimises its own storage utilisation in order
to keep its PPE cost at a minimum. Such a model can reduce peak demand
considerably when applied to a variable PPE consumption profile. Experiments
conducted for NHS England regions using actual data confirm that the challenge
of securing PPE supply during disasters such as COVID-19 can be eased if proper
stock management procedures are adopted. These procedures can include early
stockpiling, increasing storage capacities and implementing measures that can
prolong the time period between successive infection waves, such as social
distancing measures. Simulation results suggest that the provision of PPE
dedicated storage space can be a viable solution to avoid straining PPE supply
chains in case a second wave of COVID-19 infections occurs.
