Chat about hospital being involved in small leak (8)
I believe the answer is:
schmooze
'chat' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'about hospital being involved in small leak' is the wordplay.
'about' becomes 'c' (abbreviation for 'circa'**).
'hospital' becomes 'h'.
'being involved in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'small' becomes 'sm'.
'leak' becomes 'ooze' (I've seen this before).
'c'+'h'='ch'
'ch' placed into 'sm' is 'schm'.
'schm'+'ooze'='SCHMOOZE'
(Other definitions for schmooze that I've seen before include "Talk amicably, perhaps seeking a favour" , "Chat in friendly manner" , "Intimate and cosy gossip" , "chatter" , "Gossip in a friendly way" .)