This is often done in a specialised recovery room. When the person wakes up they are usually given a cup of tea or some such similar drink, and left for a while longer before they are ready to return to a hospital ward. As people wake up they may feel confused, disorientated and even agitated. These usually fade and return to normal although it is common for people to go back to bed when they return to the ward and sleep for a couple of hours. Because it's been shown to work, although nobody really knows how.
Some people think that during the fit, a person's brain 'resets', almost like a computer.
However, how it is used varies a lot from one area or hospital to another. Since it has been estimated that there are around 138,000 treatments a year in Britain, this means that six people may die. Memory loss has also been reported to last a lot longer than a few hours, although there really isn't much research around in this area. Before ECT is given, doctors are required by UK law to gain consent for treatment. If consent is not given, or if it is withdrawn at any time, the ECT should be stopped.