AN NHS boss in Herefordshire has called out TV gardener Monty Don after he criticised the Covid jab rollout in the county.

Monty Don, 66, said that he would "love" to get a coronavirus booster jab as the Government was urging all those eligible to.

Don, who features on BBC Two's Gardeners' World from Longmeadow near Leominster, said had been eligible to get a booster jab for a month.

But he said he had had "no contact at all" from the NHS and there was "no booster programme in the whole of the county of Herefordshire".

Taking to Twitter, Don's post had 335 replies, 176 retweets and 1.4k likes.

But the Wye Valley NHS Trust, which runs Hereford County Hospital, has called out the presenter.

Chief executive Glen Burley said: "That’s actually not correct.

"We are offering boosters via primary care across the county and through our vaccination centre at Elgar House."

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Slots are available in Herefordshire, through GP surgeries and now more commonly pharmacies.

GP federation Taurus Healtchare also waded in, tweeting: "This isn't correct. We are delivering thousands of booster vaccinations in the county.

"Dates are listed on the national booking system but demand is high and slots fill quickly. Please keep checking as new dates get added daily."

Hereford Pharmacy at Station Medical Centre has recently started to give out the jabs to booked patients, as has Bromyard Pharmacy.

There are also still slots available at the vaccination centre at Elgar House, in Holmer Road.

But sometimes people are unable to book slots there, and get given alternatives including Malvern, Cinderford and Gloucester.

Last month, Diane Treherne, of Bardolph Close, Hereford, said that she rang the NHS’s 119 number five times to book a booster jab, and each time the nearest vaccination centres she was offered were 74 miles away in Swansea, or at Gloucester or Cinderford.

In Broxwood, near Kington, Gerald Hodson said he was also disappointed by the availability of booster jabs in the county.

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He said despite being eligible for a booster jab, when he and his wife went to book online via the NHS portal, the only option in the county was Elgar House in Hereford’s Holmer Road, which had no availability.

He said: “The nearest we were offered which had space was Telford or a place on the other side of Worcester. You can’t seem to get a jab without a 60-mile trip.

Mr Hodson said he and his wife ended up getting a booster 23 miles away in Craven Arms, north of Ludlow in Shropshire.

But Joanna and Martin Prior of Wyatt Road, Marden, were able to get a jab at Elgar House.

The couple, both in their sixties, were among those able to book appointments for their coronavirus booster at the Holmer Road site after logging on to the website as soon as booster job appointments were made available.

According to the NHS website, most people can book a vaccination appointment online for a centre or pharmacy, go to a walk-vaccination site or wait to be contacted by a local NHS service such as a GP surgery and book an appointment with them.

A spokesperson at NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire CCG said: “We appreciate that some people are finding it frustrating and difficult to book a slot for their booster, but we can confirm that vaccine is available across the country to ensure that all those who are eligible for a booster vaccine from six months after their second dose will receive one."