43 GHP Q3 2026 a passion for her field to create an inclusive clinic for patients suffering with Long Covid, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, mast cell activation, and myalgic encephalomyelitis, whose symptoms have often been dismissed as anxiety and never explored as a physical illness. This proved an essential service; within one week of its establishment, the private clinic was booked up with appointments for the first six months. Dr. Taylor sees patients face-to-face for hour-long consultations at Jura Health clinic in Perth, and offers video consultations for patients who are too far away to travel in, or whose symptoms are too severe to make the journey. At the same time, she also continues to undertake locum work to support practices across the industry. Beyond her clinical work, Dr. Taylor actively contributes to the field through a wide range of endeavours. The GP has undertaken a number of engagements with the Scottish Government, given talks about Long Covid with the Independent Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, and is a member of the World Health Network’s expert advisory team on Long Covid, as well as a recognised Champion for Long Covid Kids. Since entering the medical field, Dr. Taylor has made groundbreaking strides towards helping sufferers of Long Covid, PoTS, MCAS, and ME/CFS see the light at the end of the tunnel. She has dedicated her professional career to advocating for the long-overlooked, leveraging an unrivalled knowledge of the autonomic nervous system to identify and treat coexisting conditions. For her exceptional work, unmatched expertise, and unwavering commitment to patient advocacy, Dr. Claire Taylor has been rightfully recognised as the Long Covid Specialist of the Year 2026. Contact: Claire Taylor Company: Dr. Claire Taylor Web Address: www.drclairetaylor.com ased in Perthshire, Dr. Claire Taylor has made a name for helping the patients who have been left feeling abandoned in their fight against Long Covid. With a special interest in cases of Long Covid, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (PoTS), mast cell activation (MCAS), and myalgic encephalomyelitis, or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), Dr. Taylor has established a private clinic to support patients with these conditions on their journey to obtaining diagnosis and treatment. A former Neuroscientist, Dr. Taylor achieved a BSc Neuroscience (Hons) from the University of Edinburgh. She then worked in cancer research for a year before undertaking a degree in medicine at Dundee University. Dr. Taylor graduated MBChB Medicine with a distinction in 2008, and moved on to work across various specialties before completing her GP training in 2017. In the years that followed, Dr. Taylor discovered a passion for the immune system and post-viral illnesses. She developed a keen interest in myalgic encephalomyelitis whilst working in rheumatology clinics, particularly as she observed patients who were clearly very ill presenting with normal blood tests and scans. As patients were discharged without treatment, Dr. Taylor realised that there appeared to be no understanding of a unifying, underlying pathology. In 2021, Dr. Taylor began working as an NHS Tayside GP in Perthshire whilst also working extensively to support an ME charity throughout the pandemic. She began to observe many similarities between ME and Long Covid, with the main symptoms being post-exertional malaise, migraines, blurred vision, poor memory, and mobility issues. At the same time, she also recognised that almost every Long Covid patient was also suffering from postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, a disorder of the autonomic nervous system. This realisation was a significant breakthrough in the medical field, as there are treatments for PoTS that can help ease disruption to daily life. The remaining challenge for the sector, however, lay in disseminating treatments and information; there were no dedicated PoTS clinics in Scotland. Many GPs are unfortunately uneducated on postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, and are unable to make patient referrals because there is no professional to accept it. With this knowledge, Dr. Taylor established Scotland’s first private Long Covid clinic in Tayside in 2022. With a background in neuroscience, she possesses a comprehensive understanding of the autonomic nervous system. She combined this expertise with Six years after the Covid-19 pandemic began, it is estimated that 65 million people worldwide are living with Long Covid. Estimates of prevalence vary, with between 10% and 40% of people who contract Covid-19 likely to develop Long Covid. Despite these harrowing figures, the condition is still significantly underserved in the healthcare system. Today, we celebrate Dr. Claire Taylor, one Perth-based GP striving to fill the significant gaps that have been left in this field. We took a closer look at Dr. Taylors work below, as she is recognised in the Global Excellence Awards 2026. Dr. Claire Taylor: An Advocate for the Unheard B AIM-Jul26248
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