Trip to the ER

So today I decided the pain was too bad not to do something about it. I needed something to bring the infection down and make it so I could move my arm. I get there and the ER is crowded. Now it's 3:30 in the afternoon... not exactly what you expect to see. I mean there aren't even enough chairs for people. Someone had told me that on the weekend people were there overnight... I suspect that it's at least partially due to the construction going on at the hospital. 30 minutes later there were still 10 people ahead of me just to get to the triage. And the sign says the approximate wait times is 4 hours, AFTER the triage. I decided since I wasn't dying that I wasn't going to waste my entire day off at the emergency room. Now that says something right there. The old saying is "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Granted in this case it's not really prevention any more... but shouldn't issues be treated before they become that serious? I wonder how many people give up waiting and then wind up back at the ER when it really does become serious... Or maybe they should be getting some of the nurses to treat patients that are just minor to get them treated and on their way home. Isn't that part of what triage is supposed to be? I guess time will tell as to whether the infection goes away on it's own or if I get forced into a situation where I absolutely have to get it looked at.