Cryptic crossword clue
They trail along behind — hospital department hours being trimmed a long time 10

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 10 letter word ENTOURAGES

I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
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Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "They trail along behind" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case they trail along behind = entourages.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

What does ENTOURAGES mean?

ENTOURAGES noun
  1. A retinue of attendants, associates or followers.
  2. A binary relation in a uniform space which generalises the notion of two points being no farther apart than a given fixed distance; a uniform neighbourhood.

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