Union doctor ran off outside and was groped (7)
I believe the answer is:
fumbled
'groped' is the definition.
('fumble' can be a synonym of 'grope')
'union doctor ran off outside' is the wordplay.
'union' becomes 'U' (common abbreviation as in 'Trades Union Congress').
'doctor' becomes 'mb' (Bachelor of Medicine, Medicinae Baccalaureus).
'ran off' becomes 'fled' (I've seen this before).
'outside' is an insertion indicator.
'u'+'mb'='umb'
'umb' placed into 'fled' is 'FUMBLED'.
'and was' is the link.
(Other definitions for fumbled that I've seen before include "Handled awkwardly, groped about" , "Perhaps failed to catch" , "Mishandled" , "Fourteen-line poem" .)