Contrite theatre worker touring hospital department (9)
I believe the answer is:
repentant
'contrite' is the definition.
('repentant' can be similar in meaning to 'contrite')
'theatre worker touring hospital department' is the wordplay.
'theatre' becomes 'rep' (I've seen this in other clues).
'worker' becomes 'ant' (worker is a type of ant).
'touring' means one lot of letters goes inside another (touring can mean going round).
'hospital department' becomes 'ent'.
'rep'+'ant'='repant'
'repant' placed around 'ent' is 'REPENTANT'.
(Other definitions for repentant that I've seen before include "Regretful" , "sorry state" , "showing contrition" , "Feeling remorse for misdeeds" , "Contrite" .)