Fool in hospital left ecstasy — bother (6)

I believe the answer is:

hassle

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'bother' is the definition.
(hassling is a kind of bothering)

'fool in hospital left ecstasy' is the wordplay.
'fool' becomes 'ass' (ass is a kind of fool).
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'hospital left' becomes 'hl' (this might be a standard abbreviation I've not previously seen).
'ecstasy' becomes 'e' (informal term for the drug).
'ass' put within 'hl' is 'hassl'.
'hassl'+'e'='HASSLE'

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(Other definitions for hassle that I've seen before include "Colloquial harassment or annoyance" , "Informally annoy or bother" , "Modern word for bother and annoyance" , "Informally, annoy or harass" , "Difficulty - dispute" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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