His patients never say a word! (3)

I believe the answer is:

vet

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'his patients never say a word' is the definition.
The answer is a person as well as being a singular noun. This is suggested by the definition.

This is the entire clue.

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(Other definitions for vet that I've seen before include "'Animal doctor, in short (3)'" , "Examine carefully - might one help a lame duck?" , "animal doctor to > investigate" , "Examine, check" , "Check someone for suitability" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

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