Crossword Genius

Omen left by hospital department (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

portent

'omen' is the definition.
(I know that omen can be written as portent)

'left by hospital department' is the wordplay.
'left' becomes 'port' (left side of a ship - opposite of starboard).
'by' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'hospital department' becomes 'ENT' (abbreviation for Ear, Nose and Throat department).
'port'+'ent'='PORTENT'

(Other definitions for portent that I've seen before include "Prophetic sign" , "Sign of thing to come" , "Evil omen" , "bad sign" , "Sign of something about to happen" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.
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