hi d2008, yes we were in a similar situation to you guys, we were October applicants and got our visas thru in April. The case officer came along in January or early Feb, so the ball rolls very quickly once he or she arrives and that's it really, once you provide the c.o with all they need, it's then passed to the decision maker and bob's yer uncle.

Regarding the early meds/police checks, the meds will be ok but if things pad out a little long then they will surely ask for more police checks, which is a pain in the butt as that happened to us and delayed us by a month!

Hope this helps