Campaigners behind a cancer treatment centre in Cairns fear it becoming a white elephant with no staff.

The Committee for Oncology Unit Cairns Hospital is worried the unit will be finished before managers and staff are appointed to operate it.

COUCH chairman Charles Woodward said the committee was concerned red tape and bureaucracy would stall the opening of the unit.

He said Queensland Health appeared not to have finished the tendering process for a private operator to manage and staff the building.

He said there had been no reply to a letter sent to Health Minister Paul Lucas on October 6 raising concerns about management and staffing.

But a spokeswoman for Mr Lucas said there was no need for COUCH to be concerned.

"Queensland Health is committed and still progressing the private-public process," she said.

The spokeswoman said the unit was scheduled to open in 2011, two years ahead of schedule and COUCH should "absolutely not" be concerned about any delays.

"It's still full steam ahead," she said.

The spokeswoman admitted the tender documents had not been completed.

She said the two-month delay in replying to the letter was because it was still being processed through various advisers.

Construction has started on the Liz Plummer Oncology Unit on the corner of Lake and Grove streets. It will also include a multi-level car park.

It was named after the public face of the COUCH campaign Liz Plummer, who died from cancer on July 14.

"We appreciate your Government has taken up the challenge and is progressing this, however, now that the building is under way we would like to know how far the private-public model (which was also recommended by the KPMG due diligence review of the centre) has progressed as this will have great bearing on how the oncology centre will be staffed and administered," Mr Woodward said in the letter.

"There have been cases in NSW where oncology centres have been completed but have become 'white elephants' as the staffing issues had not been addressed in a timely manner.

"I am sure none of us wish this to happen and we would appreciate your reply as to how this is being addressed."

Mr Woodward said the whole idea of fast-tracking the building as promised by the Government was to appoint private enterprise to run the unit.

"We understand the tender document has not been finished," he said.

"But the people who will be managing the unit should be involved now in recruiting and getting the right equipment.

"You can't have people coming in at the last minute. The whole idea is a private-public model, not just an off-shoot of Queensland Health.

"We fear we will run out of time to get people to run the place before it opens."

COUCH director Bob McGill said there were specialist staff who had contacted them from throughout Australia wanting to work at the unit.

"The community fought for this to be stand-alone, not be an annex of Townsville," he said.

"One of the things we promised Liz (Plummer) before she died was that we would ensure it remained on track.

"She died entrusting us to ensure it was completed and operational."

In January, Premier Anna Bligh announced that the centre would be fast-tracked by two years.

Later in March, Ms Bligh said it would be named in Mrs Plummer's honour.

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