Thousands elderly people in Aberdeenshire have received incorrect details about the location of their spring Covid vaccine booster, sending them miles from home.

NHS Grampian admitted that around 4,000 people who are aged 75 and over have been given the wrong details about their vaccine centre following an “unexplained blip” in their booking system.

Aboyne residents were told that they would need to make a 30-mile trip to Inverurie to receive their jab instead of at the nearest clinic in the village.

The health board has now confirmed that the issue has been resolved and that they are contacting those who were affected by the blip to rebook their appointments.

A spokeswoman from NHS Grampian said: “On Tuesday we became aware some citizens in Aberdeenshire had not been given appointments at their nearest clinic.

“We estimate approximately 4,000 people have been given appointments at clinics other than their local centre. We have already started phoning people directly to rebook their appointments.

“There is no evidence of similar issues in Moray or Aberdeen City; we are working closely with the national appointing team to understand why this happened and how it can be avoided in future.

“If anyone has received an appointment at a clinic that is not closest to where they stay or is not convenient to get to, they do not need to wait for us to get in touch; they can call the national helpline on 0800 030 8013 and rearrange.”