I should point out that the private option exists in the UK as well, if you have money and don't want to wait. And of course there's a normal range of OTC drugs including aspirin - unless you're in Scotland it's cheaper to buy it yourself than pay the £7 flat prescription charge.

NHS triage is pretty effective: stuff that might actually kill you gets seen to immediately. Chronic conditions get managed long-term. The vast majority of the long waits are for things like hip operations, which will improve quality of life but aren't particularly urgent.

The US system is not without waits: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/06/sunday-review/long-waits-...