THE State's chief health officer has moved to reassure Queensland women that plans to change the structure of Breastscreen Queensland won't affect services.

Dr Jeannette Young said today that changes which will give 16 hospital and health boards responsibility to coordinate and plan mammograms and other cancer tests would leave no patient worse off.

``Women will still receive the same letter they've always received notifying them of the importance of going and getting your breastscreen every two years. It will come in the same way,'' Dr Young said.

``They'll still attend exactly the same services. There are currently 200 sites across Queensland that women can attend to have a breastscreen and it's very important that women continue to do so.''

After community outrage today - with hundreds of couriermail.com.au reader comments urging that the BreastScreen service remain unchanged - Health Minister Lawrence Springborg also issued a statement reassuring women that access to Breastscreen Queensland services would not change.

He said the only centralised functions of BQ not already delivered by health regions were mobile breastscreening vans and relief radiographers.

``These are the functions that will be devolved to regions under the restructure,'' Mr Springborg said.

The Sunday Mail revealed today that state's hospital and health boards would be given responsibility to co-ordinate and plan mammograms and other cancer tests.

They will be given a budget to provide services and set their own priorities for patient care. Board members will include clinicians, academics, small business owners and local identities.

It means BreastScreen Queensland, which has been operating for more than 20 years and last year had a budget of almost $44 million, will no longer centrally control mobile breast screening vans or radiographer staff relief pools.

A spokesman for Health Minister Lawrence Springborg said services should be provided locally.

Cancer Council spokeswoman Anne Savage said the decision could compromise the effective delivery of a vital service for women.

"It is unclear whether the devolution of public health functions to hospital and health services could result in discretionary decision-making that doesn't conform to clinical guidelines and evidence-based screening practices," she said.

Breast cancer survivor Dianne Lewis, when told of the plan, had a simple message for Mr Newman: "Don't change the system that saved my life."

Today, Mrs Lewis, 50, has outlined her case in a letter to Mr Newman, whose Government plans to dismantle BreastScreen Queensland and devolve its functions to 17 new hospital and health boards.

The mother of three has penned a letter to Mr Newman.

"Please, please, please I am begging you on behalf of all Queenslanders do not make any changes...the system works how it is," she said

"I am living proof of that and by making changes you are putting peoples life's at risk."

It was BreastScreen Queensland that sent Mrs Lewis a letter in 2006 to remind her she was due for a routine check-up.

Shortly after her visit, she received a follow-up call asking her to come back. That was when the cancer was detected.

Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said no patient would be worse off and that mammograms were already provided in regional areas. She said patients would not notice any difference.

The head of Public Health and Social Work at Queensland University of Technology, MaryLou Fleming, said the model could fail because some health boards might not provide the same services or have the same priorities.

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