Like the motley bunch in the hospital ward? (3-8)

I believe the answer is:

ill-assorted

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'like the motley bunch in the hospital ward?' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.

'like the motley' is the wordplay.
'like' becomes 'ill' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'the motley' becomes 'assorted' (I've seen this before).
'ill'+'assorted'='ILL-ASSORTED'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for ill-assorted that I've seen before include "Unsuitably matched" , "Not matching" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.