Framework the rest made to hold the sick up (7)
I believe the answer is:
trellis
'framework' is the definition.
(trellis is a kind of framework)
'rest made to hold the sick up' is the wordplay.
'made' is an anagram indicator.
'to hold' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'the sick' becomes 'ill' (I've seen this in another clue).
'up' says the letters should be written in reverse (in down clue: letters go upwards).
'ill' back-to-front is 'lli'.
'rest' with letters rearranged gives 'tres'.
'tres' enclosing 'lli' is 'TRELLIS'.
'the' is the link.
(Other definitions for trellis that I've seen before include "where climbers may be trained" , "Garden lattice" , "Plant-training lattice" , "Framework supporting climbers" , "latticework in the garden" .)