Why are you crying daddy? Last words of five-year-old as she lay dying of illness the doctors missed... Doctors sent Ward Alshammary home with a virus in January this year Two days later, she was back in hospital and suffered a cardiac arrest An inquest heard doctors at Southampton General Hospital failed to spot a major infection between her lung and chest wall Internal hospital investigation revealed there had been failings in her care But coroner Grahame Short said it would never be known if her death could have been prevented by earlier treatmentÂ Her devastated father revealed the youngster wanted to be a paediatrician Â By Khaleda Rahman for MailOnline and Daily Mail Reporter WardÂ Alshammary died of a cardiac arrest after doctors failed to spot a major infection As five-year-old Ward Alshammary lay dying, she asked her father one last heartbreaking question: â€˜Why are you crying, Daddy?â€™ The brave schoolgirl was suffering a cardiac arrest brought on by an illness that doctors failed to spot, an inquest heard. She had been sent home from hospital by medics who believed she simply had a virus. But two days later she was rushed back when her condition deteriorated rapidly. It turned out Ward was suffering from bronchial pneumonia and a major infection between her lungs and chest wall.Â As they prepared to move her to paediatric intensive care from a high dependency unit, they gave her medication to tackle the bacterial infection but the youngster suffered a cardiac arrest. But just moments before she died, Ward gave her crying father Badr Alshammary a kiss and asked him why he was in tears.Â Speaking about how their lives had been turned upside down by her death, her father and mother Feraihah said they never thought they wouldn't come home from the hospital without their daughter. The couple, who used to live in Southampton, said: 'We were incredibly close to our daughter Ward. Although she was only five years old, she cared for us, as much as we cared for her. She loved her siblings and all of her friends at school. Ward loved going to school and she loved her teachers. When she grew up she wanted to be a paediatrician - she even told the doctor at the hospital that was what she wanted to be. After that first visit to the hospital, we thought she would be fine. Even when we went back on 21 January 2013, we did not expect to leave the hospital without our daughter. 'Ward's death has affected our lives significantly: our family life, our studies, every day, even walking down the street. We know that nothing can bring Ward back but we hope that knowledge of the circumstances in which Ward died, which we now understand in more detail, can prevent similar deaths in the future. When she was first admitted, the little girl was examined and given an antihistamine drug before being sent home. And doctors at Southampton General Hospital, in Hampshire, told the family she would be well enough to mix with other children at school. This was despite being severe dehydration and she had not eaten or drunk for two days, Winchester Coroner's Court was told. She died in the early hours of January 22 after being readmitted and concerned staff had called in senior paediatric consultant Dr Peter Wilson. She suffered a cardiac arrest thought to have been brought on by a flood of toxins into her system and having suffered septic shock. Lawyers representing the Alshammary family questioned if the little girl may have survived had she been admitted directly to intensive care rather than time being lost at the high dependency unit. An internal investigation carried out by the hospital revealed there had been failings in her care. However Grahame Short, Senior Coroner for Central Hampshire, said it would never be known if her death could have been prevented by earlier treatment. An internal investigation at Southampton General Hospital, pictured, found there had been failings in the youngster's care Her devastated parents said their little girl had big dreams of becoming a paediatrician when she grew up. Ward even made the point of telling the doctors and nurses of her chosen career as they checked her over and treated her on admission to hospital the first time. Her father added in a statement that on their first visit to A&E, he had been told by a first year trainee A&E specialist that she would recover within three days. He said: 'The doctor said it was a normal rash and not contagious. She told me she would be okay to go back to school and be around other children. Recording a verdict of death by natural causes, Mr Short said the 'failure to recognise Ward's deteriorating condition' caused 'a delay in the initial amount of immediate treatment'. When she grew up she wanted to be a paediatrician - she even told the doctor at the hospital that was what she wanted to be.Â Â Five-year-old Ward's father Badr He said: 'With the benefit of hindsight we now know there have been failings in individual decisions which, if they had been different, might have prevented the tragic outcome in this case.' Her additional infection in the child's lung lining, which clinicians were unaware of at the time, may have been 'highly-relevant' to her sudden, rapid deterioration, he added. Mr Short said: 'The central issue in this case is whether it would have made any difference if her true medical condition had been recognised sooner. 'It may well have been different if she had been moved to the paediatric intensive care unit and she was treated sooner, but I don't know that - and I don't believe that we'll ever know.' The inquest heard how an internal investigation carried out by Southampton General Hospital into Ward's death concluded that there had been failings. It said doctors had not appreciated the gravity of her condition in the final hours of her life, the court was told. Giving evidence, paediatric consultant Dr Jason Barling was asked if she would have already contracted pneumonia three days before her death on her first hospital visit. He admitted it was not known and said: 'It could have been present at the time, but it could also have not been present until 24 hours later.' Dr Barling added that since Ward's death there had been briefings across the NHS region and there was now increased awareness of how to manage Sepsis in children when they were hospitalised. Juliet Pearce, patient safety manager at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, added: 'Our thoughts and sympathies remain with Ward's family at what continues to be a very difficult time for them. As reported at the inquest hearing, Ward was assessed appropriately in our emergency department and the circumstances surrounding her death, although extremely sad and distressing, could not have been predicted. 'We hope the coroner's determination will help to give the family a better understanding of the difficulties her condition presented and we offer them our full support as they continue to come to terms with their loss.'