“It can be heavy and demanding with this type of patient. But I was surprised when I heard what happened and understood that the woman has worked for a long time in the industry. Of course it is completely unacceptable,” said the chairman for the social welfare board (Socialnämnden), Jan-Olof Sewring, to local paper Helsingborg’s Dagblad (HD).

The incident occurred about a week ago at a care home for the elderly in southern Sweden.

The 90-year-old man reportedly suffers from dementia, which causes him to sometimes act threateningly toward staff, often using foul language, according to HD.

But last week the woman, a hospital orderly that has worked for many years within the care sector, had enough of his antics when she met him in the corridor of the home, and started shouting at the man, waving her fist in the air.

She allegedly shouted that she would kill him if “he ever did that again”, according to the paper.

When other staff swiftly pulled the man back into his flat to try to calm the situation down, the orderly allegedly followed and continued to hurl abuse at the confused man.

After another member of staff had made a lex Sarah report, obliging staff in the care industry to report instances of mistreatment to the social services, the orderly was brought in to see the manager to explain her actions.

She allegedly admitted to having lost her temper, saying that she found it difficult to contain her anger. Talking to the other staff, her employers found that this had been obvious on previous occasions as well.

“But the investigation has so far not unearthed anything that could lead to further reports,” said the manager of the care home to HD.

The woman has since been dismissed and might be facing more serious consequences than losing her job, as the matter has also been reported to the police.

The woman’s threat to “kill” her patient might be enough to charge her with threatening behaviour, according to the paper.