Same thing in Canada, a lot of the US seems to envy our healthcare system and the current system is cheaper per capita than medicare in the US, even before Obama and Bush expanded coverage.
healthcare in Canada is still pretty horrible, and over flooded. Having to wait ~10h in emergency because of a minor problem... might as well not go. (lived 10 years in Canada so I know!)
I'm not a huge fan of it either, but we certainly get more for our public dollar than the US does which was my point.
Generally the emergency room works on a triage process so going there with a minor issue means everyone with serious issues gets treated first.
If you want to go to the emerg room with a minor issue and get treated in a reasonable amount of time you may want to consider whether one of your symptoms is having trouble breathing. A quick run before going to the emerg if you're out of shape quite often produces this symptom.
